020 7898 0500US service sector companies posted their strongest growth in four months yesterday, mainly because of an increase in sales and new orders. US services PMI came in at 56.5 in June which was slightly lower than the 56.8 recorded in May, but services output was the second-fastest since April 2015. Job creation was also its second-fastest since September 2015.
The employment change figures were slightly disappointing, with private businesses hiring 177,000 workers in June compared with an upwardly revised 189,000 in May. The figure had been expected to come in at 190,000 so it was some way below that. Initial jobless claims up to 30 June 2018 came in at 231,000 against an expectation of 225,000, while non-manufacturing PMI hit an impressive 59.1 against an expectation of 58.3.
Today we have the balance of trade figures, as well as average earnings. We’ll then see the unemployment rate for June, but the main release is the all-important non-farm payrolls.
