The United States added 6000 more jobs last week as US jobless claims came in line with analyst expectations, confirming a slow, but steady economic recovery. Dow Jones and Nasdaq reacted positively to the news before falling back before closure. Dow ended down 0.11 % with Nasdaq in positive territory; up 0,40 %. The telecommunication sector led by AT&T and Verizon dragged DOW down. Oil prices recovered on prospects for higher US growth.

The EURO continues to be under strong pressure after the disappointing Spanish bond auction Wednesday. Euro/USD is trading at seven weeks low at 1.3070. Euro is weakened against all currencies, trading at seven month low vs. Japanese yen. While US FED seems to have given up on the idea of new round of quantitative easing (QE) the Japanese Central is actively considering QE to boost the economy. USD/Yen is trading at 82.215.

The peg set by the Swiss Central bank against Euro came under severe pressure during yesterday’s trading. The disappointing news from Spain led investors to escape the EURO for Swiss Franc which came under strong pressure when it dipped below the 1.20 limit set by the Central Bank as the absolute minimum for the strength of Swiss franc vs. EURO. The Central Bank countered with intervening heavily selling Swiss Franc and buying Euro.

In Asia the Shanghai composite rose for the second day seeing its best level in 2 months on expectations of inflow of foreign capital into stock market following easing of the former strict limits set for foreign investments in Chinese equities. GDP numbers for the first quarter show a growth of 8,4 % far below the 7,5 % growth target set by the Chinese authorities strongly indicating that China seems to in for a soft and not a dramatic hard landing in 2012.

The Taiwan dollar is stronger as New Zealand and Australian dollars. Gold has recovered from yesterday’s lows 1613 and trades at 1627. Silver is at 31.71. Most markets are closed today due to Easter holidays. US futures are pointing up before long weekend holidays.