US Employment Surprises Threefold, Boosting Dollar and Interest Rates

The US employment figures for August exceeded market expectations, causing the New York foreign exchange and bond markets to quickly tilt towards tightening. The non-farm employment in the US increased by 162,000 in August, more than three times the Dow Jones' forecast of 53,000.

This strong labor market highlighted the possibility of interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve (Fed), leading to a surge in the dollar index to 99.9 during trading and US Treasury yields rising across the board.

The 2-year yield, sensitive to changes in monetary policy, reached its highest level since January 2025, reflecting a reassessment of the market's interest rate trajectory.