On Friday, the US currency strengthened after the release of positive data on the US economy. According to the reports, the number of people employed outside the agricultural sector increased by 200 thousand people, while wages increased by 0.3%. The unemployment rate remained at the same level of 4.1%. The growth of wages may indicate an acceleration of inflation, which may lead to a further increase of the Fed’s interest rates. On Friday, the US dollar index (# DX) closed in the positive zone (+0.61%).
The US dollar strengthening led to the drawdown of major currencies, the Japanese yen and the Australian dollar fell most. The euro, pound and New Zealand dollar rallies also stopped after the US currency began to recover. This week there will be the Central Banks of Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom meetings. The most important event will be the Bank of England quarterly inflation report.
The "black gold" prices are falling due to the strengthening of the US dollar and the growth of oil production in America. Futures for the WTI crude oil are testing a mark of $65 per barrel.
Market Indicators
On Friday, there was a bearish sentiment on the US stock market: #SPDR S&P 500 (NYSE:SPY) (-2.18%), #Dow Jones Industrial Average(-2.56%), #PowerShares QQQ Trust Series 1 (NASDAQ:QQQ) (-1.99%).
The United States 10-Year government bonds yield shows a positive trend. At the moment the indicator is at the level of 2.87%.
The news feed on 2018.02.05:
- The index of business activity in the services sector in Germany and the Eurozone at 10:55 (GMT+2:00) and 11:00 (GMT+2:00), respectively;
- The index of business activity in the services sector in the UK at 11:30 (GMT+2:00);
- The volume of retail sales in the Eurozone at 12:00 (GMT+2:00);
- The index of business activity in the non-manufacturing sector of the US at 17:00 (GMT+2:00).
We also recommend you to pay attention to the speech of the head of the ECB Draghi.