NFP impact now almost totally wiped away

•     NFP impact now almost totally wiped away

–    Fed funds expectations down only 3-4 bps, 10-year yields down only 3 bps

–    USD higher against most G10 currencies

–    Apparently investors are listening when Fed officials say they believe the slow hiring was due to the bad weather and they expect the economy to improve, like last year

•     JOLTS report shows most job openings in 14 years

–    But pace of hiring is steady, quit rate falls a bit = no wage pressure

–    Market focuses on headline figure, rise in consumer credit & confidence = USD-positive

•     Bank of Japan stands pat, as expected

–    Market is looking for the Apr. 30^th meeting, when new forecasts are published

•     Today:

–    Eurozone: German factory orders for Feb; Eurozone retail sales for Feb

–    Greece:  Auction of EUR 874mn in six-month T-bills

–    US: Minutes of the March FOMC meeting to be released; market will look for an explanation of why they removed the “patient” phrase from the statement; US earnings season starts tonight, look for comments on how the dollar is hurting earnings

–    Speakers:  NY Fed President Dudley, Fed Gov. Powell