US non-farm payrolls (employment) rose by 192,000 in February, slightly above expectations for a gain of 185,000. But the unemployment rate fell from 9.0pct to a 2-year low of 8.9pct - below forecasts centred on a result near 9.1pct. And data on job growth for December and January was revised higher by 58,000. Also US factory orders rose by 3.1pct in January, above forecasts of a 2.1pct gain.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has confirmed that control of inflation is the top economic priority this year with the target set at 4pct, compared with 4.9pct currently.

European shares fell on Friday, ending a second week of declines, with investors fearful about the potential for widening instability in the Middle East. The FTSEurofirst index lost 0.7pct, the German Dax fell by 0.7pct and the UK FTSE eased by 0.2pct.

US sharemarkets fell on Friday but recovered sharply in late trade. At one point the Dow Jones index was down 180pts, but it closed lower by 88pts or 0.7pct. The S&P 500 eased 0.7pct and the Nasdaq fell by 14pts or 0.5pct. Over the week the Dow Jones rose by 0.3pct with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq both up by 0.1pct.

US treasuries rose on Friday (yields lower) as investors concluded that the Federal Reserve wouldn´t be hiking rates any time soon. US 2yr yields eased 8pts to 0.68pct and US 10yr yields fell by 7pts to 3.49pct. Over the week US 2yr yields fell by 3pts but US 10yr yields were up by 7pts.

The greenback was volatile on the release of employment data but weakened over the US session. The Euro held between US$1.3945 to US$1.4000 before ending US trade near US$1.3985. The Aussie dollar fell from highs of US101.45c in early European trade to US100.75c, before rebounding to end US trade near US101.35c. And the Japanese yen lifted from 82.90 yen per US dollar to around JPY82.25, ending US trade near JPY82.30.

US crude oil prices hit fresh 30-month highs on Friday in response to on-going fears that unrest in Libya could broaden through the Middle East. The Nymex crude oil contract rose by US$2.51 or 2.5pct to US$104.42 a barrel. And the London Brent crude rose by US1.18 to US$115.97 a barrel. Over the week Nymex crude rose by 6.7pct while Brent rose by 3.4pct.

Base metal prices generally eased on the London Metal Exchange on Friday, as investors took profits. Zinc fell 2pct, other metals fell 0.2-0.5pct but lead rose 0.5pct. Over the week metals were generally higher between 1.2-4.4pct. Lead did best but the zinc price fell by 1.1pct. The gold price rose on Friday in response to on-going violence in Libya while silver hit 31-year highs. The Comex gold futures price rose by US$12.20 an ounce to US$1,428.60. Gold rose by US$19.30 an ounce or 1.4pct over the week.

Ahead: In Australia, job advertisement data is due. There is a public holiday in Western Australia. In the US, consumer credit data is released.