Marketwatch EU & UK

Daily Insights
September 5, 2024

  • Yesterday’s US job openings print came in softer than expected at 7.67 million for July, from a downwardly revised 7.91 million for June and considerably below market estimates of 8.22 million job openings. Markets were sent into a panic with the dollar selling off and treasury yields tumbling. The data suggests that the US labor market is cooling more rapidly than the Fed has been expecting, with layoffs and unemployment increasing amid a decline in job openings. Yesterday’s data puts today’s ADP Private payroll release and weekly claims under even more scrutiny ahead of the key Non-farm Payroll release tomorrow which will likely set the tone for the greenback and Fed policy in the coming weeks.
  • The Fed’s dual mandate of stable prices and maximum employment is clearly facing pressure on the employment side putting fresh burden on the central bank. The Fed next meets on the 17th and 18th of this month, and a rate cut is widely expected, however the jury remains out on whether officials will cut by 25bp or announce a more aggressive 50bp reduction.
  • Both EURUSD and GBPUSD continue to consolidate mid their recent ranges as investors remain reluctant to build fresh positions ahead of Fridays US employment report. German Factory orders and Eurozone Retail Sales are on the docket this morning, however neither are expected to significantly shift EURUSD from its 1.0990 to 1.11 range.
  • Elsewhere, The Bank of Canada yesterday cut its key interest rate by 25bp for a third consecutive meeting and said that it is “reasonable” to expect more easings to come if inflation continues to decelerate. The reduction was widely expected as policymakers remain concerned about undershooting their 2% inflation target.

Economic Calendar

:
AUD - Goods Trade Balance
:
AUD - RBA Gov Bullock Speaks
:
JPY - 30-y Bond Auction
:
CHF - Unemployment Rate
:
EUR - German Factory Orders m/m
:
GBP - Construction PMI
:
EUR - Retail Sales m/m
:
EUR - Spanish 10-y Bond Auction
:
EUR - French 10-y Bond Auction
:
USD - Challenger Job Cuts y/y
:
USD - ADP Non-Farm Employment Change
:
CAD - Labor Productivity q/q
:
USD - Unemployment Claims
:
USD - Revised Nonfarm Productivity q/q
:
USD - Revised Unit Labor Costs q/q
:
USD - Final Services PMI
:
USD - ISM Services PMI
:
USD - Natural Gas Storage
:
USD - Crude Oil Inventories
:
JPY - Household Spending y/y

Market Indicators

Currency Pairs
Pair High Low
eur/gbp 0.84304 0.84237
gbp/usd 1.31562 1.31409
gbp/aud 1.95759 1.95376
gbp/nzd 2.12692 2.11944
usd/jpy 143.904 143.282
eur/usd 1.10854 1.10746
gbp/jpy 189.262 188.345
eur/cnh 7.87845 7.86
usd/cnh 7.11024 7.09378
Equities and Commodities
Nasdaq 100 18883.1
DOW 40939.6
S&P 500 5515.25
BRENT CRUDE 72.94
WTI 69.43
GOLD 2494.87

This document is for information purposes only and does not constitute any recommendation or solicitation to any person to enter into any transaction or adopt any trading strategy, nor does it constitute any prediction of likely future movements in exchange rates or prices or any representation that any such future movements will not exceed those shown on any illustration. All exchange rates and figures appearing are for illustrative purposes only. You are advised to make your own independent judgment with respect to any matter contained herein.

About Simon Walker

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Simon Walker is head of the GPS Capital Markets trade desk in our London office where he is responsible for covering market risk in European hours. He has over 25 years’ experience in foreign exchange, working in both sales and trading.