Get 40% Off
🤯 This Tech Portfolio is up 29% YTD! Join Now to Get April’s Top PicksGet The Picks – Just 99 USD

U.S. Jobs Data Set To Momentarily Distract From Trade Noise

Published 09/07/2018, 06:27 AM
Updated 07/09/2023, 06:31 AM

USD – Jobs data to momentarily distract from trade noise

It is Non-Farm payrolls day in the United States but the jobs market is being overshadowed by trade concerns as we close out the week’s trade. Analysts and economists are looking for the US economy to have added 191,000 jobs in August, with wages expected to have risen 2.7% since last year. This is solid but not spectacular growth and would mimick similar releases from the US that we have seen in the past weeks. The US economy is doing just fine, and any dip in the jobs numbers will only lead to suggestions that the US economy has finally reached full employment.

On trade, President Trump said on Thursday that he believes Canada will end up being part of a new NAFTA agreement. News reports this morning are suggesting that talks between the US and Canada have seemed upbeat, but are not expected to lead to a deal this week.

China got out ahead of the US yesterday by announcing its intention to retaliate to any new tariff demands from the White House. So far we have heard nothing on the rumoured $200bn of tariffs that were due to be announced before the end of this week.

We expect most dollar pairs to remain quiet this AM in the run-in to the payrolls announcement at 1.30 and, after that, it is anyone’s guess.

GBP – Sunday remains an important day

There was no Brexit news to speak of yesterday which was interesting in itself. Entering the weekend we have to be wary of the pound’s reaction to political posturing in the papers and on the Sunday morning chat shows.

There is no sterling data today and despite the back and forth of Brexit headlines that we have had this week, we are firmly entrenched in the well-worn ranges in both GBP/EUR and GBP/USD and a breakout to either the high or lowside looks unlikely before the weekend.

Overnight, Accountancy and business advisory firm BDO said its monthly High Street Sales Tracker showed like-for-like sales dropped 2.7% in August from a year earlier. Higher inflation and poor wage growth are keeping shoppers from purchasing goods over food and the summer heatwave was great for bars and restaurants but not so much for other retailers.

AUD – Right in the crosshairs

Despite a better than expected housing approvals number, the AUD has come in for another negative night. AUD is caught in the crosshairs of being closely tied to China, reliant on external financing, subject to vacillations in commodity markets and having an economy that is slowing.

We are looking for another 2% to come out of the AUD at least as it tests the 0.70 level against the USD and the 1.84 level against the pound.

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.