Initial market reactions to the announcement by the U.S. Department of Labor that 295,000 new jobs had been added in February were surprisingly downbeat. The reason is clear.

The euro is down about 0.45% against the U.S. dollar and gold is suffering at the hands of that dollar strength. The euro, though which has recovered a tiny amount, dropped below 1.10 for the first time since 2003.

There was no winning for gold against the powerful U.S. dollar surge that came on the back of twin releases of good news for the American economy. Curious, though, was the softening of U.S. equities markets.