The AUD is the strongest and the USD is the weakest as the NA session begins

The AUD is the strongest and the USD is the weakest as the North American session begins. In the US, the Bureau of Labor Statistics will release their monthly jobs report (Canada will also release their monthly employment data). The expectations are for

• Nonfarm payroll: 205K vs. 263K last month
• Unemployment rate 3.5%
• Avg hourly wages 0.3% vs. 0.3% last month. Year on year 4.7% vs. 5.0%
• Average workweek 34.5 hours unchanged from the previous week
• participation rate last month came in at 62.3 percent

The leisure and hospitality sector is still 1.1M behind the pre-pandemic level which may be an influence in a rise. Meanwhile the tech sector has announced that about 1/3 of the job announced cuts. Do we see a shift in this months numbers within the details that shows shifting winds.

US stocks are higher ahead of the report. The major indices are down 4 consecutive days. US yields are trading higher. European stock indices and yields are also higher.

In Europe this morning, German factory orders plunged -4% vs. -0.5% expected. Ouch. However services PMI although below the 50 level were higher than expectations and higher than last month at 48.6 vs. 48.2.

The Canada jobs report is expected to show an employment change of a 11.0 K vs. 21.1 K last month. The unemployment rate is expected to rise to 5.3% from 5.2%. Last month full-time employment gain 5.7K while part time employment rose by 15.4K. Average hourly wages came in last month that 5.2% last month

Looking at other markets ahead of the key jobs reports:

• Spot gold Gold Gold is the most widely traded and important commodity. Prized for its historical importance and used for trading an exchange of goods, the gold market today is estimated at nearly $2.4 trillion.The value of gold fluctuates constantly, as it trades on public exchanges where it has a price that is determined by supply and demand. Gold has historically had tremendous significance and even today is extremely sought after. Gold has been used as a currency as it doesn't corrode, and the material allo Gold is the most widely traded and important commodity. Prized for its historical importance and used for trading an exchange of goods, the gold market today is estimated at nearly $2.4 trillion.The value of gold fluctuates constantly, as it trades on public exchanges where it has a price that is determined by supply and demand. Gold has historically had tremendous significance and even today is extremely sought after. Gold has been used as a currency as it doesn't corrode, and the material allo Read this Term is trading up $22 or 1.35% at $1651.20.
• Spot silver Silver Silver is a precious metal that is commonly traded on exchanges or through brokers. It is much more affordable than gold and thanks to its importance as an industrial metal as well as volatility, is widely traded.For precious metals traders, gold is a much more popular market. Big institutions buy gold as a currency hedge when real interest rates and yields on other assets become unacceptably low. Central banks will buy gold, not silver, as a reserve asset to diversify their currency exposure.In Silver is a precious metal that is commonly traded on exchanges or through brokers. It is much more affordable than gold and thanks to its importance as an industrial metal as well as volatility, is widely traded.For precious metals traders, gold is a much more popular market. Big institutions buy gold as a currency hedge when real interest rates and yields on other assets become unacceptably low. Central banks will buy gold, not silver, as a reserve asset to diversify their currency exposure.In Read this Term is up $0.44 or 2.3% at $19.89
• crude oil is trading up sharply by $3.10 and $91.27
• bitcoin is trading higher $20,576

In the market for US stocks, the major indices are trading higher after 4 straight days of declines:

• Dow industrial average is up 157 points after yesterdays -146.51 point decline
• S&P index is up 25.5 points after yesterdays -39.80 point decline
• NASDAQ index is up 76 points after yesterdays -181.86 point decline

In the European equity markets, the major indices are higher:

• German DAX +1.86%
• France's CAC up 2.4%
• UK's FTSE 100 up 1.44%
• Spain's Ibex up 0.46%
• Italy's FTSE MIB up 0.92%

In the US debt market, prices remain pressured/yields are higher after the FOMC rate decision this week and the comments from Fed's Powell:

In the European debt market, the benchmark 10 year yields are higher across the board: