Strong Jobs Report Sparks Rate Hike Fears Amidst Market Volatility

The US jobs report released on Friday morning was stronger than expected, showing a gain of 162,000 jobs versus an estimated 56,000. This was the strongest monthly print since March and significantly higher than the 12-month average of +31,000.

This robust figure may have contributed to increased concerns about potential interest rate hikes, which could be a factor in the US markets' relatively flat performance this week. Despite strong jobs data, US equity markets ended mostly unchanged or slightly lower, while European and Asian markets also saw minimal movement.

The commodity market saw significant gains, with crude oil leading the way at 10.5% from Monday's low to Thursday's high. This may signal a new primary cycle in oil prices, which are now looking bullish. Other commodities such as Orange Juice and grains like Corn, Soybeans, and Wheat also experienced strong rallies.

Precious metals initially fell but then rebounded sharply this week, with gold potentially forming a half-primary cycle low on Wednesday. Bitcoin reached new weekly highs but remains below its May 6 peak, while Ethereum failed to make a new high, setting up bearish intermarket divergence.