The ISM Non-Manufacturing (services) PMI Â slipped to 54.4 points. It was expected to remain almost unchanged, ticking lower from 56 to 55.9 points. The services sector is the biggest one in the US. The more worrying factor comes from the employment component, which fell from the high levels of 57.2 to 53.3 points. It is now safe to say that expectations for the Non-Farm Payrolls are lower than those recorded last week.
EUR/USD was rising earlier as the IMF pledged 1 billion to Cyprus. USD/JPY is slipping below 93.
The new orders sub component also took a dive from 58.2 to 54.6 points. The 50 point mark separates growth from contraction.
The PMI for the manufacturing sector also disappointed earlier in the week with a big drop to 51.3 points, much lower than expected. At least the employment component of this report was on the rise.
Earlier, ADP reported a gain of 158K jobs in March, significantly lower than 200K that was expected.
The last hint towards the Non-Farm Payrolls report on Friday is tomorrow’s jobless claims. They disappointed with a rise to 357K last week.
Further reading: 5 Most Predictable Currency Pairs – Q2 2013
