Foreign Exchange Market Update

June 5, 2026

United States Job Growth in May

Employment in the U.S. jumped in May, according to a closely watched report released by the Labor Department on Friday. The Labor Department said non-farm payroll employment rose by 172,000 jobs in May after surging by 179,000 jobs in April. Notable growth in leisure and hospitality, local government, and health care jobs, while employment in the financial activities sector declined.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department reported that the unemployment rate was 4.3% in May. The unemployment rate held steady as the household survey measure of employment jumped by 149,000. At the same time, the labor force increased by 83,000. The Labor Department also said average hourly employee earnings climbed by $0.12 or 0.3% to $37.53 in May. The annual rate of growth by average hourly employee earnings fell from 3.6% in April to 3.4% in May. 06/05/2026 - 09:42:00 (RTTNews)

Eurozone Economy Shrinks for First Time Since 2022

Euro traded at 1.1538 against USD at 9:00 AM PST

The euro area economy contracted for the first time in more than three years in the first quarter, dragged down by the massive slump in Ireland. Gross domestic product (GDP) shrank 0.2% quarterly, offsetting the 0.2% growth seen in the fourth quarter. This was the first decline since the fourth quarter of 2022.

Yearly, economic growth for the first quarter was downgraded sharply from 0.8% to 0.3%. The growth followed the fourth quarter's 1.2% expansion.

The expenditure-side breakdown of GDP showed that household spending grew 0.2% sequentially and government consumption advanced 0.5%. Household and government spending contributed 0.1% points to GDP growth.

Meanwhile, gross fixed capital formation dropped 0.3%, marking the first fall in three quarters. Gross fixed capital formation provided a negative contribution of 0.1% point.

At the same time, exports dropped 0.2%, while imports grew 0.5%. As a result, net foreign trade contributed a negative 0.1% points. Finally, changes in inventories contributed negative 0.1% points. 06/05/2026 - 08:17:00 (RTTNews)

Japan Household Spending Slips 0.5% on Year in April

The average of household spending in Japan was down 0.5% on year in April, coming in at 328,969 yen. On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, household spending rose 1.6%, following the 1.3% drop in the previous month. The average of monthly income per household stood at 612,163 yen, up 2.3% on year. 06/04/2026 - 20:23:00 (RTTNews)