How many ways to skin a cat?
If the rate hikers were looking for a rubber stamp for the March FOMC they've been disappointed. If the doves wanted a big miss to stay on hold they've been disappointed too.
Taking the report in a wider context, we've washed out all the Christmas seasonal effects and the report puts the labour market pretty much back where it's been for the last couple of years. Solid and steady.
USDJPY tried the upside and failed, and tried the downside and is failing at that too. The moves in the euro and pound reflect that also.
There's nothing here to rock the boat but it does leave more questions than answers as far as the FOMC on the 16th is concerned. Right now those questions are being fought over in the price action. I suspect we'll end up right where we started before the data.
The euro will now be the bigger focus with the ECB next week so watch for signs that it's moving on those expectations rather than this US news. Monday will be when we start looking in earnest towards the ECB but don't rule out some moves today, and that could mean seeing longs unload to reduce risk.
