A very positive surprise from the US job market: after long weeks of disappointing numbers, we now get a fall to 265K. This si the lowest since April 2000 but may have been distorted by the MLK holiday. When the Fed said “strong labor marketâ€, did they see the numbers? This is a fall of 43K. Continuing claims stand at 2385K. The moving average is down to 298.5K.
Markets are cautious in the reaction to the data.
The weekly US jobless claims were expected to tick down to 301K from 307K reported last week (before revisions). The previous number was revised up 308K – a minor change.
The US dollar has been on the rise against commodity currencies while mixed against the majors.
Yesterday, the Federal Reserve left the “patience†word intact in its rate statement. There were only modest differences in the statement, but some of the wording regarding the US economy have been upgraded. For instance, the labor market is now seen as “strong†in comparison†to “solidâ€.
Later on we have pending home sales from the US.
More: USD Pullback An Attractive Long-Term Buy – Credit Suisse
