Several major currencies--including the U.S. dollar, Japanese yen, and the euro--moved sharply less than a minute before the release of Friday's U.S. nonfarm-payrolls report. In the minute before the report was released, the U.S. dollar rallied to Y98.36 from Y97.96 at 8:29 a.m., according to EBS via CQG. The decision to buy the dollar against the yen was in line with the report, which showed U.S. job growth picked up in April, with the unemployment rate inching down one-tenth of a percentage point to 7.5%. The euro, however, also rallied, gaining to $1.3150 from $1.3117 at 8:29 a.m. That move quickly reversed after the report came out, to trade recently at $1.3047. The erratic trading moves came roughly a year after an unusual currency trade unsettled markets moments before the release of last year's May monthly employment report. On that date, a sudden jump in the yen against the dollar wasn't contained to the foreign-exchange world. Within seconds, stocks and bonds also started to move in what traders said likely were computer-driven buy-and-sell orders generated in response to the move in the currency markets. Write to Geoffrey Rogow at geoffrey.rogow@dowjones.com.

Source