The main release from America yesterday was the balance of trade figures. The deficit had been expected to widen from a downwardly revised $45.7 billion in June to $50.3 billion, but the figure actually came in at $50.1 billion. It was the highest trade gap for five months, with imports reaching a new record high and exports falling sharply.
The dollar lost some ground against the euro and sterling, but we can expect those losses to be reversed whenever the next trade tension controversy rears its head. The US is currently focused on Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination for the Supreme Court, but it shouldn’t be too long before Trump tweets something or other about further trade tariffs.
Today’s headline release is the employment change figures for August, as well as non-manufacturing PMI. We will also see composite and services PMI, factory orders and initial jobless claims up to 1 September.
