|

US: Challenger Job Cuts drop to 30,603 in March from 34,531 in February

  • US Challenger Job Cuts continued to decline in March.
  • US Dollar Index extends its sideways grind above 93.00.

Planned job cuts in the US-based employers dropped to 30,603 in March from 34,531 in February, Challenger Gray & Christmas announced in its latest Job Cut Report on Thursday. This reading represented an 86% decline from the 222,288 job cuts announced in the same month last year when businesses were forced to shut down due to COVID-19.

Commenting on the report, "we have now marked one year since the first wave of layoffs occurred due to the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns," said Andrew Challenger, Senior Vice President of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. "It appears we have entered a recovery phase where job eliminations are slowing and companies are able to predict and assess where growth will occur."

Market reaction

This report doesn't seem to be having a significant impact on the USD's performance against its rivals. As of writing, the US Dollar Index was posting small daily losses at 93.20.

Author

Eren Sengezer

As an economist at heart, Eren Sengezer specializes in the assessment of the short-term and long-term impacts of macroeconomic data, central bank policies and political developments on financial assets.

More from Eren Sengezer
Share:

Editor's Picks

EUR/USD challenges 1.1700, six-week lows

EUR/USD remains under heavy downside pressire in quite a dfrreadful start to the new trading week, putting the 1.1700 support to the test amid the marked rebound in the US Dollar. The flight-so-safety environment continues to support the Greenback following the escalating conflict in the Middle East.

GBP/USD hits new yearly lows near 1.3300

GBP/USD adds to the recent bearish tone, approaching to the key 1.3300 support to reach fresh YTD troughs against the backdrop of the robust performance of the US Dollar. Indeed, Cable’s decline comes amid the firm demand for the safe-haven space in the wake of the US and Israel attacks to Iran.

Gold shifts its attention to $5,600 on fligh-to-safety mood

Gold climbs to levels last seen in late January past the $5,400 mark per troy ounce on Monday. The yellow metal’s strong uptick remains fuelled by incresing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and the consequent demand for safer assets.

Bitcoin on brink of breakdown amid US-Iran war

Bitcoin (BTC) remains under pressure near the key support level of $65,700. Trading at $66,400 at the time of writing on Monday, a breakdown below this critical level would suggest a deeper correction ahead.

The week ahead: Conflict in the Middle East jolts markets

Events in the Middle East are obviously dominating financial markets this morning. The Brent crude oil price is extending gains and is higher by more than 8%, stock futures are pointing lower and the gold price is higher by more than 2%. 

Pi Network Price Forecast: Core team offloads supply, weighing on PI recovery

Pi Network  hovers below $0.1700, broadly steady at press time on Monday, attempting a recovery after a 2% loss the previous day. Sunday’s decline aligned with nearly 49 million PI tokens offloaded by the Pi Foundation, implying a spike in supply pressure that capped the prevailing four-day recovery.