Dollar rally continues after underwhelming US jobs data

US job creation has come in under the forecast of 192,000 with 164,000 new jobs created in April, whilst average hourly earnings have also come in slightly under forecast, growing 0.1 per cent month-on month and 2.6 per cent year-on-year. Despite the news, the US dollar has continued to rally against a basket of peers, leaving the US dollar index around 2018 highs and showing that markets are not taking today's disappointing job numbers as a sign that the Federal Reserve will alter its expected pace and extent of interest rate hikes. The UK FTSE index remains strongly up for the day, with the FTSE 100 buoyed by a fall in sterling versus the US dollar, a factor that inflates revenue earned abroad by international focused companies. Europe is positive, whilst US markets have also opened into modest gains in early trading, though markets continue to buy US government debt due to the attractive yield still on offer.