The purchasing managers’ index for the services sector rose to 53.7 points. However, the employment component fell from 52 to 50.1 points. The headline number was expected to tick higher from 53.1 to 53.4 points in May. The services sector is by far the biggest in the US, around 75%. The employment component provides a hint towards the all-important Non-Farm Payrolls report on Friday.
Factory orders disappointed with a rise of 1%, lower than 1.6% expected. EUR/USD retreated from the highs and lost 1.31 before the report. It is now slightly higher, at 1.3085. USD/JPY was on the mend, but is sliding again from 99.70 to 99.48.
The good news in the services PMI comes from new orders: they climbed from 54.5 to 56 points. Business activity rose from 55 to 56.5 points.
The previous key data figures for the Non-Farm Payrolls disappointed:
- ADP Non-Farm Payrolls showed a gain of only 135K in the private sector, below the 165K expected. This sent the dollar down, but the greenback managed to recover since.
- ISM Manufacturing PMI scored only 49 points, in contraction zone. This big disappointment was accompanied by a mediocre employment component.
Jobs figures of any kind are closely watched as they are the key for the next move of the QE: the Fed is expected to taper bond buys, but the timing is very uncertain.
