Computer trading systems

Computers programs trading the euro likely what pushed the currency up in seconds
before the past two month's U.S. jobs figures were released benefits for investors if algorithms put them on the right side of the dollar's reaction. The action ahead
of today's release was more muted. Use Bloomberg functions to analyze the market impact of economic indicators

In june and May the euro jumped as much as 50 basis points in the 10 seconds before the Labor Department's report on non-farm payrolls. That's too fast for any humans who locked into their positions at a lower exchange rate

In June, the euro slumped against the dollar after better-than-forecast figures. Institutions that sold the euro in the final seconds before the announcement made twice much as those who last traded 30 seconds before.

The chart shows a surge in the euro starting about 15 seconds before the release , a timespan typically too short for a person to arrange a trade

A similar pattern can be seen on the June release, with a rise of 48 basis points during the four seconds preceding the release, and then a 1.2 percent drop. Counterintuitively, the negative suprise in May led the euro to lose value, so those who'd bought the currency as it climbed in those last few seconds lost out

Though there was little movement ahead of today's release, algorithms seemed to have instantaneously concluded the numbers were a bit weaker then expected, driving the euro up 52 basis points in three-tenths of a second. those models most likely took profits within minutes of the release as traditonal market participants stepped in