020 7898 0500Fridays big event was the Non-farm payroll figures. After a period of exceeding expectations this came in much lower than expectations. Was this a surprise, probably not, as we had already seen economic data releases on a downward curve for the last few weeks. The strength of the dollar has certainly been hurting US exports and the removal of the quantitative easing programme has also reduced the “adrenalin rush” that had powered the US economy over the last few years. The likelihood of an increase in US interest rates happening soon seems to be receding. Although we saw a some weakness for the US dollar it wasn’t significant.
This week, we will see the release of the Federal Reserve meeting minutes on Wednesday, which should show a detailed report of their most recent meeting. With various members recently showing mixed signs of a preferred time for a rate hike, it will be interesting to see where the majority sits and what figures they want on increased growth before agreeing to raise interest rates. With the less significant weekly unemployment claims indicator on Thursday and import prices on Friday, we could be in for a quiet week.
