Dollar Gains on a Strong US Jobs Report

Economic Indicators - The US nonfarm payrolls for January increased by +130,000, surpassing expectations of +65,000, marking the strongest growth in 13 months [3] - The unemployment rate for January unexpectedly decreased by -0.1 to 4.3%, indicating a stronger labor market than anticipated [3] - Average hourly earnings rose by +3.7% year-over-year, aligning with expectations [3] - The annual benchmark revision to 2025 US payrolls showed a reduction of -862,000 jobs, exceeding the expected revision of -825,000 [3] Federal Reserve Commentary - Kansas City Fed President Jeff Schmid stated that further rate cuts could risk prolonging high inflation, advocating for maintaining rates at a "somewhat restrictive" level [4] - Following the release of the payroll report, the probability of a Fed rate cut at the next FOMC meeting decreased to 6% from 23% [1][5] Mortgage Market - US MBA mortgage applications fell by -0.3% in the week ending February 6, with the purchase mortgage sub-index declining by -2.4% and the refinancing sub-index increasing by +1.2% [2] - The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate remained unchanged at 6.21% from the previous week [2] Currency Market - The dollar index (DXY00) rose by +0.16% after recovering from a 1.5-week low, driven by the positive payroll report and rising T-note yields [1] - The euro (EUR/USD) decreased by -0.28% as the dollar strengthened following the stronger-than-expected payroll data and hawkish comments from the Fed [6]