บทความและสาระน่ารู้

The number of job openings in the US was little changed at 6.94 million in January, while for December it was revised upward to 6.55 million from the 6.54 million previously reported, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported in the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) on Friday.

Scotiabank strategists Shaun Osborne and Eric Theoret note the Pound is underperforming against the Dollar, hurt by risk sentiment and a surprise contraction in UK industrial production.

American consumer confidence deflated in early March, as households grew more pessimistic about current conditions and the broader economic outlook, according to preliminary data from the University of Michigan.

Commerzbank’s commodity team, including Barbara Lambrecht and colleagues, highlights that the Iran war has triggered the largest oil supply outages ever, with the IEA estimating losses of at least 8 million barrels per day.

Standard Chartered’s Chong Hoon Park and Nicholas Chia expect the Bank of Japan to keep its policy rate at 0.75% on 19 March, with a cautious stance due to uneven Japanese growth and higher Oil prices.

Gold (XAU/USD) struggles to gain traction on Friday and remains on course for a second weekly decline as surging Oil prices stemming from the ongoing US-Iran war fuel inflation concerns and trigger a hawkish repricing of global interest-rate expectations, weighing on the non-yielding metal.

The Euro (EUR) trims part of its earlier losses against the US Dollar (USD) on Friday as traders digest the latest US economic data. At the time of writing, EUR/USD is trading around 1.1472 after touching an intraday low near 1.1433, its weakest level since August 2025.

TD Securities analysts expect the Canadian Dollar (CAD) to show relative resilience versus non-USD peers thanks to Oil links, lower beta to risk-off and cleaner positioning.

OCBC strategists Sim Moh Siong and Christopher Wong highlight that Brent’s move above USD100/bbl and rising Hormuz disruption risk raise the odds of a durable energy shock, with markets bracing for stagflation and a stronger Dollar.

ING’s Chris Turner argues USD/JPY is now firmly in intervention territory, with markets watching whether any action involves only Japanese authorities or a fully joint move with the Federal Reserve.