The US ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI fell to 54.4 points. It is still well into growth territory, but reflects a big drop of 4.2 points. It was expected to slide to 57.2 points from the super strong 58.6 score in August. The employment component fell sharply from 57 to 52.7 points. This is usually a good indicator for the Non-Farm Payrolls. But this time, the NFP is probably off due to the government shutdown.
EUR/USD traded around 1.36 before the release. GBP/USD slid to 1.6170 and USD/JPY held above 97.50. -The dollar is now falling once again, with EUR/USD climbing to 1.3620 and USD/JPY dropping to 97.40.
The new orders component remained on high ground: 59.6 points – a drop of 0.9 points. New export orders jumped while business activity plunged. No figure is below 50 – the border between growth and contraction.
Earlier, jobless claims remained at low levels – at 308K and provided some support to the US dollar. The government shutdown is weighing on the US dollar.
There is a report that some House Republicans want to pass a budget and remove the Obamacare related clauses, but a deal has yet to come.
