USD/NOK settles above 1 1/2-week low, posts weekly loss

The USD/NOK currency pair settled above Friday’s low of 10.2960, its weakest level since April 22nd, as the US Dollar failed to draw lasting support from the latest solid US employment numbers.

Employers in all sectors of the US economy, excluding farming, added 177,000 job positions in April, slowing from the revised down 185,000 in March. Still, job growth surpassed market consensus of 130,000.

The latest figure also came relatively close to the average monthly gain of 152,000 over the past 12 months, despite uncertainty in regard to the Trump administration’s aggressive tariff policy.

Average hourly earnings grew 3.8% YoY in April, matching the rate in March.

Yet, the jobs report does not reflect the full impact of the tariffs, which the Trump administration imposed on April 2nd.

The data cemented expectations that the Federal Reserve will likely keep interest rates on hold next week.

Markets are now pricing in an about 50% chance of a Fed rate cut occurring as early as June, down from 60% prior to the data release.

Meanwhile, in Norway, factory activity shrank sharply in April. The DNB Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index came in at a reading of 46.1 in April, down from a downwardly revised 50.1 in March.

It has been the first contraction in activity since June 2024 and the steepest rate of decline since July 2020.