Home Daily Commentaries US Job Growth May Cause the Fed to Pause on Interest Rate Cuts

US Job Growth May Cause the Fed to Pause on Interest Rate Cuts

Daily Currency Update

USD - United States DollarUS Non-Farm Payrolls increased by 224,000, while the consensus for June was for 160,000. June's jobs number was well above last months dismal 75K jobs added for the US in May. Market participants will now look at the numbers and may start to unwind the Federal Reserves interest rate cut at the end of the month as job growth in the US is showing signs of resilience. Revisions on previous months saw subtraction of only 11,000 giving the US labor market a three-month average of 171,000. Trade tensions will play a significant factor in the Federal Reserves rate decision at the end of this month. Trade talks between the US and China are continuing as promised by President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping at last weekend's G20 meeting in Osaka, Japan.

Key Movers

Not much to report in other areas of the world. EUR/USD moved sideways between 1.1270 and 1.1295, and we saw Retail Sales for the Eurozone fall 0.3 percent for May, this was the second consecutive fall and highlighted the ongoing weakness in the eurozone economy. ECB Governing Council member and Finnish central bank governor Olli Rehn has said that "we should no longer see the recent slowdown in growth as a brief temporary dip in the economy, as a 'soft patch.'" Adding "We are experiencing a longer phase of weaker growth." He called on the action by the ECB saying, "If we want to live up to our mandate, further monetary stimulus is now needed until there is improvement in economic and inflation prospects."

Expected Ranges

  • EUR/USD: 1.1226 - 1.1284 ▼
  • GBP/USD: 1.2497 - 1.2558 ▼
  • USD/CAD: 1.3044 - 1.3128 ▲
  • AUD/USD: 0.6975 - 0.7029 ▼
  • NZD/CAD: 0.8680 - 0.8738 ▼