No big surprises for the US manufacturing sector: the ISM PMI stands at 54.9 points, slightly above expectations. The employment component is slightly higher, at 53.5 against 52 last time, an encouraging number for the NFP. However, the Prices paid component dropped by 8 points to 60.5. While still at high ground, the drop implies lower inflation than beforehand.
A separate report shows that construction spending is down by 1.4%, worse than predicted with an upwards revision.
The US dollar is slightly weaker.
ISM Manufacturing PMI background
The ISM Manufacturing PMI was expected to tick down from 54.8 to 54.5 points. This is the last hint before tomorrow’s all-important Non-Farm Payrolls report, which is set to seal the fate of the Fed’s June decision. The early release of the NFP means that the ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI is released only on Monday, after the fact. So, the manufacturing PMI is of higher importance.
US construction spending was expected to rise by 0.5% after a drop of 0.2% beforehand.
The US dollar was sliding ahead of the publication after gaining ground earlier in the day.
The ADP NFP came out much better than expected. A gain of 253K private sector jobs is way off the charts. Jobless claims missed expectations with 248K but this wasn’t substantial.
The most important factor in the NFP is wages. See the Preview: All about the money – 3 scenarios.
