Yesterday the index that measures the performance of the Dollar against other major currencies climbed 2.2%. The greenback’s gains happened alongside publication of the worst ever US unemployment data, with more than 6.6 million registering for unemployment in a single week. This somehow counterintuitive behaviour of the American currency, going up when the country’s economic conditions are deteriorating, celebrates the status of the Dollar as a safe haven, sought after by investors during times of economic decline, even when that decline is occurring in the United States.
Later today, data related to the creation of new jobs, the non-farm payrolls, will be published. This is normally one of the most important points in the economic calendar, but not this time. The data refers to the period ending on the 12th March, largely preceding the acute phase of the crisis and therefore almost irrelevant. It is therefore quite likely that the non-farm payrolls will have little or no impact on the behaviour of the Dollar on this occasion.
