U.S. Jobs Growth Slows in September

On Friday, U.S. employment growth declined unexpectedly for the third straight month in September and the unemployment rate rose, which could make the Federal Reserve more cautious about raising interest rates later this year. Nonfarm payrolls rose by 156k in September, down from a gain of 167k in August, the Labor Department said on Friday.

Hourly wages for private sector workers grew last month by 2.6% from the same month a year earlier, which met expectations. The U.S. dollar index pared its gains and traded below 95.50.

In a speech at the Brookings Institution, Bank of Japan governor Haruhiko Kuroda said, “If necessary, officials can ease policy further, by cutting short-term rates deeper into negative territory while simultaneously reducing their target for long-term rates and they could also increase their regular asset purchases.” The pair was affected by such statement and traded at ¥103. Technically, USD/JPY could decline to ¥102.50 before returning to ¥104.

Euro rose vs. USD and settled at $1.12, thanks to soft U.S. data. The single currency could be supported by the remarks of European Central Bank Vice President Vitor Constancio as he said, “The euro zone economy is proving surprisingly resilient to a series of recent shocks and growth remains on a steady path in line with projections”. On the other hand, Euro could trade under pressure due the Brexit.

On Friday, GBP settled below $1.18 vs. USD before returning to $1.25 at the end of last week’s trading session. On the other hand, a Bank official said, “the Bank of England is looking into last night's fall in sterling.” Technically, Cable could retest $1.28 before returning to $1.24.

Oil prices fell as much as 1% as investors took profits after oil prices rose by 15% last week. U.S. crude failed to settle above $50 at the end of last week’s trading session. Technically, U.S. crude could settle above $50 during the course of the day.

The most important economic events:

• EUR Euro-Zone Sentix Investor Confidence (OCT): (GMT 10:30) – Medium – Forecast (6) – Previous (5.6).
• NZD Card Spending Retail (MoM) (SEP): (GMT 23:45) – Medium – Forecast (0.8%) – Previous (-0.4%).

Disclaimer
The prices and news mentioned in this outlook are absolutely no guarantee of future market performance and do not represent the view of ICM Capital Limited. Financial markets can move in either direction causing profits to be made or complete losses to be incurred by the trader. Each trader must decide for themselves what their risk appetite is and ensure that correct risk management procedures are in place before placing any trades.