Market Update

On Friday 4 February, the US official employment report will be released. Market consensus is for an increase in payrolls of 155K while Wells Fargo expects a decline by 100K. They anticipate average hourly earnings to rise by 0.6% during January.Key Quotes: “In recent months, there have been substantial revisions …

The NZD/USD pair is enjoying a modest rebound from the 14-month lows it struck last Friday amid improved risk appetite. Traders will have plenty of US data, Fed speakers’ statements and remarks, in addition to Q4 NZ jobs data to monitor this week.A more risk-on mood in global equity and …

Activity at factories in the U.S. Midwestern region defied expectations by gaining momentum in January. The Chicago purchasing managers’ index (PMI) delivered a fresh reading of 65.2, indicating manufacturing expansion accelerated in the first month of 2022, rising from December’s upwardly revised 64.3 and coming in well above the 61.7 …

The Reserve Bank of Australia will meet on Tuesday, 1 February, forecasts by the economists and researchers of eight major banks regarding the upcoming central bank’s decision are worth considering. The RBA is expected to end its pandemic-related bond-buying program while market participants speculate policymakers will bring forward rate hikes’ …

There were no strong market drivers during the European session. The Eurozone economy expanded by 0.3% on quarter in the three months to December of 2021, meeting 0.3% expected and 2.3% prior, the preliminary estimate showed on Monday. Germany’s Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP), which is the ECB’s preferred …

The price of gold fell on Monday and is heading to record the largest monthly decline since September, while the markets expect to raise the US interest rate on the back of economic data, and the rise of the dollar affected the price of gold. Spot gold prices are trading …

Oil prices rose on Monday as supply shortages and political tensions in Eastern Europe and the Middle East put prices on track for their biggest monthly gain in nearly a year. Brent crude, the benchmark, rose 66 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $90.69 a barrel by 1005 GMT. The March …

European shares rose on Monday after their worst week in more than two months, as investors looked ahead to the European and British central bank meetings amid concerns about monetary policy tightening, rising inflation and geopolitical tensions. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index rose 0.9 percent, with technology shares up 2 …

The Eurozone economy expanded by 0.3% on quarter in the three months to December of 2021, meeting 0.3% expected and 2.3% prior, the preliminary estimate showed on Monday. Annually, the bloc’s GDP rate rose by 4.6% in Q4 vs. 3.9% booked in the third quarter of 2021 while missing 4.7% …

The US dollar slipped on Monday, moving away from 1-1/2-year highs hit on Friday after hawkish comments from a US Federal Reserve official pushed the US bond yield curve to a three-month low. After the Federal Reserve in its meeting last week clearly indicated a rate hike in March, some …