020 7898 0500The US dollar was the most consistent performer last week, with strong gains against sterling and some strengthening against the euro too. This came on the back of a raft of positive economic data, although Friday did show that US non-farm payrolls had fallen by 33,000 – the first drop in seven years. However, this can at least partly be attributed to the havoc caused by the hurricanes that have affected the US of late.
While it is a quiet week for UK and eurozone economic data, the same cannot be said for the US, with several key data releases. The highlight will be the FOMC meeting minutes on Wednesday, where we could see some indications on whether US interest rates are likely to rise in December. Many people now believe it will happen and the recent performance of the US economy would seem to support that.
On Friday the core inflation rate and retail sales numbers are released, as well as consumer sentiment. If these come in above expectations then the second week of October could be the US’s too.
