Treasury - Daily Forex for day 13.03.2006

The dollar surged against major currencies on Friday after a closely-watched U.S. employment report pointed to the strong job creation in the world's largest economy. U.S. non-farm payrolls rose 243,000 in February, up from a downwardly revised 170,000 rise in January and above economists' expectations for a 210,000 advance. The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.8% from January's 4.7%. Later in the New York session, however, the dollar shed all the previous gains, trading near $1.1915 per euro. This week's heavy U.S. economic calendar includes February retail sales, Q4 current account deficit, January capital flows, February consumer prices and industrial production and the preliminary University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index for March.

The crown ended Friday's session softer versus the euro, knocked down by poorer regional sentiment. This morning, the currency soared after a report showing January industrial production jumped by 15.1%, according to a new methodology, up from December's rise of 6.9%. The market had forecast an 8.0% increase for January.