Adrian HollidayHigher US unemployment and a slower rate of job creation did damage to the dollar earlier, now down more than 10% down against the euro since the spring. To cap things off previous US month job data was also trimmed, with June and July both seeing chunky employment falls.
The soft jobs news was a fillip for the pound. At 3.30pm sterling was +0.18% up against the greenback at $1.2954. However euro nerves were in evidence as investors begin to factor in next Thursday’s ECB meeting which should give more guidance on the bank’s tapering – or cheap money – direction. The euro was trading late afternoon at $1.1884, down -0.20%.
An honourable mention meanwhile to the UK’s PMI numbers, out this morning. IHS Markit’s purchasing managers’ index saw a manufacturing lift from 55.1 in July to 56.9 in August – a four month high. More support for the pound, then.
“New export orders,” said IHS Markit’s Duncan Brock, “didn’t disappoint either with new business wins from Europe and the USA – which all supported the sector’s fastest rise in jobs growth since June 2014.”
- UK FTSE 100 7,438.50 +0.11%
- Dow 22,004 +0.26%
- S&P 500 2,475.82 +0.17%
- Nasdaq 6,427.29 -0.02%
- Nikkei 225 19,691.47 +0.23%
- DAX 12,172.27 +0.97%
- CAC 40 5,133.27 +0.94%
- Gold 1,324.98 +0.14%
- Oil WTI 46.58 -1.40%
UK manufacturing boosted; fuel prices creep higher
More on the UK’s manufacturing uptick. The key question is whether the positive start to the second half of the year can be sustained says IHS Markit director Rob Dobson. Pressures lurk, including price inflation.
“This [improvement] is looking increasingly likely during the near-term, given the breadth of the expansion. Business conditions improved across the three main sub- sectors – consumer, intermediate and investment goods – and at smaller and large-scale producers alike. Business confidence," continued Dobson, "also rose to one of its highest levels in over a year."
