The US dollar is rising, and earlier employment data exceeded expectations.

The US dollar rose against a basket of currencies, following better-than-expected nonfarm payroll data from the US. Employment in January increased by 130,000, surpassing economists' expectations of a 55,000 increase according to a survey by the Wall Street Journal. The unemployment rate for January unexpectedly dropped from 4.4% to 4.3% from the previous month. This data has led to the market reducing its expectations of further interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve; according to data from the London Stock Exchange Group, the market is now pricing in a 50 basis point cut in 2026, compared to around 60 basis points before the data was released. The DXY US dollar index rose to a intraday high of 97.272 after the data was released, up from 96.718.