Today was a big day for the United States economy. That’s because the US Jobs report for the month of February was released, smashing expectations. While the news was overwhelmingly positive for the US economy, flagship indices in the country remained relatively flat. Today, we’ll talk about the jobs report, why US indices stayed relatively flat, and what binary options traders should be watching for ahead.

What We Saw From The US Jobs Report

As mentioned above, the US Jobs report was released today and it proved to be overwhelmingly positive. Not only did the report smash expectations, it suggested a further strengthening economy in the country. Here’s what we saw from the report…

• In the month of February, the United States added 298,000 jobs to its economy. That’s incredible considering that in general, the country’s economy is considered to be doing well when it adds an average of 200,000 or more jobs per month. Not only that, the figure smashed economist expectations of 190,000 job additions.
• A key piece of data is where the jobs came from. Goods producers added 106,000 jobs while construction added 66,000 and manufacturing added 32,000. The gains in these particular areas show that demand for US goods is likely on the rise. It also shows that a key market, the construction market is improving as well.

Why US Indices Didn’t Have A Positive Reaction

With such positive economic news, many would expect that US markets would be flying to highs today. However, if you look at the three blue chip indices in the country, you’ll see that this simply isn’t the case. The truth is that for the most part, the US market has remained relatively flat all day. So, what’s the deal? Well, the answer is actually quite simple.

Believe it or not, while the US Federal Reserve has increased its interest rate twice since the record low of 0.25%, the rate is still incredibly low, and the Fed has plans on further increases. As this rate is increased, we may see gains in the USD, which for the market is a bad thing.

You see, if the value of the USD increases due to an interest rate increase, it will lead to dulling of the competitive edge companies in the United States have in the global market. After all, if the USD rises in value, either American made goods will become more expensive in other countries, or the companies that make them will have to accept less of a profit margin. Neither one is great news, ultimately making the positive economic data a bitter sweet reality for US companies.

What Binary Options Traders Should Be Watching For Ahead

Moving forward, we’re likely to see several opportunities for binary options traders out of United States indices. One of the biggest is likely going to be on March 15th. On this day, the FOMC will discuss interest rates, and given the positive economic data, many are expecting that we will learn of a new rate increase. If that’s the case, we could expect to see declines in US indices. However, if the rate is held down, indices could rally. So, what ever happens, make sure that you’re ready to trade.