A slower gain in private sector jobs in December according to ADP: only 153K jobs gained. November’s figure was marginally revised to the downside: from 216K to 215K. The big miss for December and the general drop are ominous signs for the official BLS NFP due tomorrow.
The US dollar is sliding, erasing some of its recovery attempt from the FOMC minutes.
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The Non-Farm Payrolls report from ADP was expected to show a gain of 170K jobs in December, following a substantial gain of 216K in November (before revisions).
The US dollar was trying to recover from the drops it suffered earlier. The FOMC Meeting Minutes showed that some members did take potential fiscal stimulus into account when making their projections. The hawkishness reflected in the December rate decision may have originated from election promises.
This pushed the dollar lower, especially during the following Asian session. However, we are seeing a recovery in the US session.
EUR/USD was hugging the 1.05 level, GBP/USD was around 1.23, and USD/JPY traded around 116.50. The yen maintained many of its gains. Among commodity currencies, USD/CAD was just under 1.33, AUD/USD was below 0.73 and NZD/USD was around 0.6960.
Later on, the ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI will provide the last hint before tomorrow’s big report: the Non-Farm Payrolls.
Update:
