EUR/USD pops above 1.2100 as Payrolls disappoint big time

• EUR/USD accelerates the upside past the 1.2100 mark.
• US Non-farm Payrolls rose by a meagre 266K jobs in April.
• The unemployment rate ticked higher to 6.1%.

The buying interest around the single currency remains well and sound at the end of the week and pushes EUR/USD back above the 1.2100 hurdle in the wake of US NFP.

EUR/USD now targets 1.2150

EUR/USD keeps the positive stance on Friday after the US economy created 266K jobs during April, coming in (very) short of expectations of nearly 980K jobs. The March reading was revised to 770K (from 916K).

Further data showed the jobless rate also surprised to the downside after rising to 6.1% (from 6.0%) and the critical Average Hourly Earnings – a proxy for inflation via wages – rose 0.7% MoM and expanded 0.3% over the last twelve months. Another key gauge, the Participation Rate, improved a tad to 61.7% (from 61.5%).

In addition Average Weekly Hours rose to 35.0 from 34.9.

EURUSD quickly moved above the 1.2100 hurdle in response to the sharp pullback in the dollar along with US yields, with the 10-year note hovering around the 1.50% level.

EUR/USD levels to watch

So far, spot is gaining 0.53% at 1.2128 and faces the next up barrier at 1.2150 (monthly high Apr.29) followed by 1.2243 (monthly high Feb.25) and finally 1.2349 (2021 high Jan.6). On the other hand, a breach of 1.1985 (monthly low May 5) would target 1.1944 (200-day SMA) en route to 1.1887 (61.8% Fibo of the November-January rally).