The Australian dollar is far and beyond the top performer of the day in the aftermath of a very strong employment report on Thursday, while the euro and pound sterling lagged behind the USD.

The Australian dollar was up 0.7% in the aftermath of news that the economy created 30.9k jobs in August, much more than the expected 25.0k gain and the prior 25.0k increase. The unemployment rate dropped to 5.1%, further than expectations for a decline to 5.2% from 5.3%.
 

Details of the report were also very strong with 53.1k full time jobs created compared to the prior month’s 9.6k decline, while part time employment fell 22.1k after a 34.6k increase in July.

Over in Europe, the euro failed to capitalize on some modest gains in the equity markets, and the pound sterling is the day’s main underperformer in the aftermath of a weaker than expected trade balance.

The visible trade deficit widened to £8667 million in July, despite calls for a decline to £7500 million from £7532 million the month prior.
 

The currency failed to react to the Bank of England leaving its monetary policy unchanged as expected, with rates at 0.50%, and the Asset Purchase Facility at £200 billion.

The yen is making some headway against the USD on the back of conflicting reports, with Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shriakawa telling reporters after a meeting with finance ministry officials that the yen had not been discussed, while Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda said some at the meeting expressed concerns over the currency’s strength.

Allegedly Japan is conducting simulations to judge whether FX interventions would be successful.

As traders turn to the North American session, the docket looks rather quiet with the U.S. trade balance and weekly jobless claims the only noteworthy events of the day.