MORNING BRIEFING: US Jobs data in focus; GDP figures from Euro zone also expected today.

[RTFX-Trading]

MORNING BRIEFING: US Jobs data in focus; GDP figures from Euro zone also expected today.

What’s new:
United States: Non-Farm Payrolls expected today at 14:30 CET.
Japan: New Finance minister criticized over comments about FX.
Europe: Greece under further scrutiny.
United Kingdom: Bank of England keeps rates, asset purchases unchanged.
United States: Fed Officials see inflation risks, while hope that jobless rate will fall soon.

Today:


Overnight Rates and Indices:
EURUSD: 1.4335 – 1.4286.
USDCHF: 1.0362 – 1.0329.
GBPUSD: 1.5989 – 1.5916.
EURJPY: 134.14 – 133.33.
USDJPY: 993.77 – 93.14.
DowJones: 10’606.89 +0.31%
NASDAQ: 2’300.05 +0%
S&P 500: 1’141.69 +0.40%
Nikkei: 10’798.32 +1.09%.
Shanghai: 3’195.99 0.10%,
Gold: $1’123.0
Crude Oil: $82.68
 
Comments:

Investors are cautious prior to the upcoming labor data from the US. We have seen choppy trading in the last few days were EURUSD has been confined between 1.4283 and 1.4474. The data which is scheduled at 1430 CET will be a key indicator for investor’s strategies in the Q1 of the new year. The market is expecting a flat figure for non-farm payrolls. We also have GDP figures from the Euro zone today, scheduled at 1100 CET.

Weekly jobless claims rose by 1’000 to 434’000 last week, beating consensus of 440’000. This continues to signal an ongoing improvement in the trend. Fed officials yesterday took a hawkish tone, as Kansas City Fed President Hoenig, a 2010 FOMC voting member, said the Fed should act sooner rather than later to contain long-term inflation pressures and avoid a future crisis. On the other hand St. Louis Fed Chief Bullard said the US unemployment rate will start to fall soon, and also played price pressures facing the US in the near term.

Have a good weekend.

Emman Xuereb
Trading Desk
RTFX Ltd.
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