UK labour market report on the agenda today
Good day, everyone! Hope you're all doing well as we look to get things going in the session ahead. It's been a slower start to the day but the pound did pick up a late surge in NY trading to stay above the 1.26 level against the dollar for now.
Otherwise, markets are staying more composed for now as bond traders play a bit of catch up amid indecisive risk tones following the US-China trade truce last week.
Looking ahead, we'll have a couple of data releases to move things along but it'll largely still be about the ebb and flow and headlines. Of note, Fedspeak returns today so let's see if there will be any push back against rate cut expectations by Fed officials.
0630 GMT - Switzerland September producer and import prices
Prior release can be found here. A proxy indicator of inflation pressures in the Swiss economy, which has been struggling as of late. A minor data point.
0645 GMT - France September final CPI figures
The preliminary report can be found here. As this is the final release, it isn't expected to have any impact on markets unless the figures deviate substantially from initial estimates.
0830 GMT - UK August average weekly earnings
0830 GMT - UK August ILO unemployment rate
0830 GMT - UK September jobless claims change, claimant count rate
Prior release can be found here. Wages data in the UK has been stellar over the past few months and today's release should just reinforce another solid labour market report. That said, it hardly matters and will do little to shift the dial in the pound (in a sustainable manner) until the Brexit mess is sorted out. I reckon the latest short squeeze from last week may lend a hand in allowing the data to be more relevant but overall, I doubt any decent beat will lead to a sustainable rally.
0900 GMT - Germany October ZEW survey current situation, expectations
Prior release can be found here. The overall outlook towards the German and Eurozone economies remain bleak and that shouldn't change with today's survey release. A minor data point but it should solidify further deterioration in economic sentiment.
Besides that, we'll have a couple of central bank speakers including BOE governor Mark Carney who is due to speak in a parliamentary testimony on the central bank's financial stability report at 0830 GMT.
That's all for the session ahead. I wish you all the best of days to come and good luck with your trading!
