Investing.com - The number of job openings in the U.S. rose more than expected in July to hit the highest level on record, official data showed on Wednesday.
In a report, the U.S. Labor Department said that the number of job openings, excluding the farming industry, increased to 5.753 million from 5.323 million in June, whose figure was revised up from a previously reported 5.249 million. Analysts had expected the number of job openings to fall to 5.288 million in July.
The report has garnered more attention lately, as Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen often cites the survey when assessing the state of the labor market.
EUR/USD was trading at 1.1147 from around 1.1145 ahead of the release of the data, GBP/USD was at 1.5381 from 1.5383 earlier, while USD/JPY was at 121.15 compared to 121.12 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 96.29, compared to 96.34 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock markets were broadly higher after the open. The Dow 30 rallied 0.8%, the S&P 500 tacked on 0.65%, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.55%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,109.40 a troy ounce, compared to $1,110.80 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $45.17 a barrel from $45.45 earlier.