020 7898 0500Cautious optimism was the tone from the Federal Reserve as its minutes were published late on Wednesday. Though two more rate hikes remain on the cards for 2017, the prospects of a third rate hike remain low.
The pace of these rate hikes will very much be data driven. Good data will allow the Fed room for that third rate hike. Yesterday didn’t help matters, with weaker than expected US ADP Non-Farm Unemployment data, but this was somewhat offset by positive manufacturing data.
Today sees the all-important non-farm payrolls data coming to the fore. With recent signs of the US economy showing resilience, this will be watched closely for indicators of the direction the Fed will take this year. With Obama also trying to persuade the country that Obamacare shouldn’t be scrapped as soon as Trump arrives in the Oval Office, there are plenty more humps and bumps for the US dollar to manoeuvre.
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