China's economy remains to be closely monitored.

The dollar is strongly supported by the increasing returns of US government bonds. This is due to speculation that the US central bank will raise interest rates once again, as indicated by recent data showing consistent strength in the labor market and easing stress in the banking system. Additionally, the US economy created 236,000 jobs in March and the unemployment rate decreased to 3.5%.

The US Department of Labor reported on Friday that nonfarm payrolls rose by 236,000 jobs in March, which was close to the projected estimate of 239,000 jobs. The department also revised upward the numbers for February, stating that nonfarm payrolls increased by 326,000 jobs up from the previously reported 311,000 jobs. The unemployment rate dropped from 3.6% in February to 3.5% in March nearing the lowest point in over 50 years.

The average hourly wage increased by 0.3% in March compared to the previous month, after a 0.2% increase in February. The average hourly wage on an annual basis increased by 4.2% in March after a 4.6% increase in February. Despite strong non-farm hiring in the United States hiring in some sectors has declined particularly in the manufacturing sector which saw a decrease of about 1,000 positions in March, the second consecutive month of decline. Hiring in the construction sector decreased by 9,000 positions and hiring in the retail sector decreased by 14,600 positions.

This week, China will release its report on lending and inflation for the month of March. The number of new loans in China has increased more than expected and is higher than expected while the CPI is at 0.7% lower than expected. China will also release GDP and economic activity data for the first quarter next week which investors believe may provide a better overall picture of China's economy.

In addition to the above announcement, China increased its foreign currency reserves from $51,000 billion to $3,184 billion in March compared to analysts' expectations of $3,149 billion and up from $3,133 billion in February. China holds the largest foreign currency reserves in the world.

In addition to the increased foreign currency reserves, China also held 66.50 million troy ounces of gold at the end of March up from 65.92 million troy ounces at the end of February. The value of China's gold reserves increased to $1.3165 trillion at the end of March up from $1.2028 trillion at the end of February.

Technical analysis data (5H)