On Friday, US non-farm payrolls surpassed market expectations of 170,000 in September with a reading of 336,000. This result gave the Federal Reserve enough fuel to keep interest rates higher for longer.
Following this surprisingly upbeat reading, the pound and euro slipped 0.6% against the US dollar but rebounded before the end of Friday’s session.
This morning, the US dollar is up against the euro, pound, Australian dollar, New Zealand Dollar and Swiss franc, however, investors seek refuge as geopolitical tensions escalate on the Israel-Hamas conflict.
As Israel formally declared war on the Palestinian Hamas Group, oil prices jumped 3% and airline shares fell; IAG dropped 5%, Wizz Air fell 7% and easyJet dropped 3.8%.
The Canadian economy recorded a profitable month for labour in September, adding 63,800 jobs, the highest reading in eight months and well above expectations of 20,000.
Last week, KPMG’s latest Global Outlook survey of 1,300 CEOs reported that most (64%) of UK CEOs predict a full return to five days a week of in-office working in the next three years, by 2026.
Industrial production output in Germany fell 0.2% month-over-month in August 2023, compared with forecasts of a 0.1% fall and following a downwardly revised 0.6% drop in July. This marks the fifth decrease of 2023, this month led by weakness in energy production (-6.6%) and construction (-2.4%).
It is rather quiet on the data front, with just a few speeches from Fed policymakers both this afternoon and tomorrow.
Wednesday will bring US PPI news, which is forecast to decrease from 0.2% to 0.5%, and FOMC Minutes, which should shed light on the central bank’s outlook for October.
Later in the week, economists will have lots to digest with UK GDP on Thursday, followed by US inflation figures, US CPI and on Friday, the Michigan consumer sentiment figures.
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