Australian dollar rose on Friday against its US counterpart following the release of economic data, and despite the greenback's strength today against other rivals.

Russia's war on Ukraine is intensifying with the west imposing even more sanctions, and freezing assets relating to Russian elites. 

Russia today announced the control of Europe's largest nuclear energy station in Ukraine with troops continuing to tackle strategic sites in the country.

Fed officials expressed some concerns that the Russian attack on Ukraine could harm the US economy to some degree and damage sentiment in the market.

Australian data showed retail sales rose 1.8% last month as expected. 

AUD/USD rose 0.6% to 0.7371 as of 17:18 GMT. 

US stock indices declined on Friday despite positive data from the payrolls report, with Wall Street under pressure from the mounting Ukraine crisis.

Russia's war on Ukraine is intensifying with the west imposing even more sanctions, and freezing assets relating to Russian elites. 

Russia today announced the control of Europe's largest nuclear energy station in Ukraine with troops continuing to tackle strategic sites in the country.

Fed officials expressed some concerns that the Russian attack on Ukraine could harm the US economy to some degree and damage sentiment in the market.

The US economy added 678 thousand new jobs in February, while analysts expected 407K new jobs. 

The unemployment rate fell 3.8% last month from 4% in January, while analysts expected 3.9%.

Dow Jones fell 1% to 33,420, while NASDAQ slid 1.2% to 13,371, as S&P 500 declined 1.2% to 4,311. 

Oil prices maintained their gains in American trade after a short hiatus yesterday on profit-taking, with US crude nearing 14-year highs, while Brent approached 12-year highs, on track for the largest weekly profit since 2020 as the Russian army extends its invasion of Ukraine. 

US crude spiked 4.5% to $112.81, while Brent rallied 3.4% to $114.70 a barrel.

US crude lost 3% on Thursday on profit-taking, after marking September 2008 highs at $116.51, while Brent tumbled 3.6%.

Oil prices are up 19% so far, on track for the second weekly profit in a row, and the largest since May 2020.

Fire spread near the Ukrainian nuclear energy station Zaporizhzhia after an attack by Russian forces early on Friday, with the army already controlling the facility. 

Western leaders condemned the bombing with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson asking for an emergency meeting at the UN Security Council to discuss the attack. 

Russia is the major oil and gas supplier to Europe, and the sector is getting rattled even with the west avoiding sanctions on the energy sector.

Several banks and investing companies are now expecting oil prices to rise to as much as $150 if the current crisis carries on unchanged.

Analysts don't see a reason for prices to stop the charge higher with the global market facing even more disruptions as the time goes by.

Analysts also expect Russian oil exports to tumble by as much as million bpd due to the indirect impact of the sanctions as many countries avoid buying Russia products.

Otherwise, OPEC and plus announced no change in the current production goals, adhering to the current ceiling limits of increasing production by 400 thousand bpd.

Official US data showed commercial crude stocks fell 2.6 million barrels in the week ending February 25, the first decline in three weeks, while analysts expected a 2.5 million build.

Bitcoin declined on Friday for the third straight session away from three-week highs on active profit-taking, as investors shun high-risk assets on the escalating Ukraine crisis, but the Bitcoin is still heading for weekly gains on prospects Russian elites might use the cryptocurrency to funnel money outside Russia.

At Bitstamp, Bitcoin slumped $1,676, or 3.9% to $40,800, after closing down 3.3% on Thursday on profit-taking, away from three-week highs at $44,981.

Crypto market value fell $40 billion to a total of $1.82 trillion as investors shun risks. 

Fire spread near the Ukrainian nuclear energy station Zaporizhzhia after an attack by Russian forces early on Friday, with the army already controlling the facility. 

Western leaders condemned the bombing with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson asking for an emergency meeting at the UN Security Council to discuss the attack. 

Some European politicians suggested imposing a no-fly zone in Ukraine but such a move could trigger a wider conflict with Russia.

Russia continues to bomb major population centers in Ukraine , with troops approaching Kiev.

Bitcoin is still up over 10% this week, heading for the first weekly profit in a month on hopes for Russian demand.

Traders are betting on increased crypto demand from Russian elites as the west imposes economic sanctions on the Russian economy.

The west is effectively isolating the Russian banking system, barring the use of the Swift international payment system, and in turn boosting potential demand on cryptocurrencies to circumvent such restrictions.