This afternoon stock and forex markets have extended their rally on improved US jobless claims.

As some skeptics note, the unemployment levels are still at elevated levels, just slightly less than previously thought:

“The economy is now losing just around 73k jobs per month instead of the expected 100k, truly a miraculous result” ? Zero Hedge

Nevertheless, after days of heavy selling on stock markets, the news is helping to fuel a rebound today. The FTSE 100 is up 0.8% while US markets are higher by around 0.3%.

The US dollar and Japanese yen are firmly on the back foot, though it should be noted that the third member of the safe haven trio, the Swiss franc, is holding up well.