• American focus: the dollar fell markedly against the backdrop of statistics on the US labor market

Market news

2 July 2015

American focus: the dollar fell markedly against the backdrop of statistics on the US labor market

The dollar depreciated significantly against most major currencies, was under pressure mixed statistics on the US labor market. The Labor Department said the number of people employed in non-agricultural sectors of the economy increased from a seasonally adjusted 223,000 in June. This revised earlier data showed a weak job creation this spring than originally anticipated. Employers added 254,000 jobs in May compared with the initially reported 280 000. The April gain was revised up to 187,000 from the previously reported 221 000. The unemployment rate, which is obtained from a separate survey of US households, fell to 5.3% in June, compared with 5.5% in the previous month. It was the lowest since April 2008, but it reflects the fact that fewer Americans are looking for work. Economists predicted that employment will increase by 230,000 in June and the unemployment rate will fall to 5.4%. Average hourly wages of private sector workers has not changed in the last month and remained at $ 24.95. Meanwhile, the percentage of Americans participating in the labor force, fell to 62.6% in June from 62.9% in May. This figure was the lowest since 1977.

Meanwhile, another report showed that initial applications for unemployment benefits, an indicator of layoffs throughout the US economy has increased by 10,000 and reached a seasonally adjusted 281,000 in the week ended June 27. Economists expected 270,000 initial claims last week. The level of applications in the previous week remained unchanged at 271 000. The moving average for the four weeks of initial claims, which smooths weekly volatility, rose slightly on 1000 274750. The report also showed that the number of people continuing to receive unemployment benefits increased by 15,000 to 2.3 million in the week ended June 20th.


The pound rebounded against the US dollar stabilized near the level of opening of the session. Pressure on the dollar was data on factory orders and the US labor market. Recall, US factory orders fell in May, the most in three months, while the key category indicates that business investment plans fell for a second month in a row. The Commerce Department reported that factory orders fell by 1 percent in May from April, when orders fell by 0.7 percent. Orders in the category, which serves as an indicator of business investment, fell 0.4 percent after falling 0.7 percent in April. Most of the decline in May, is associated with a large 35.3-percent decline in demand for commercial aircraft. But even outside the volatile transportation category, orders rose only by 0.1 percent. Weak evidence suggests that production is still struggling with problems such as lower energy prices and a stronger dollar, which puts pressure on exports.

Meanwhile, the weak employment data in the US lowered expectations of Fed rate hikes. Federal funds futures show that at the moment the likelihood that the Fed will raise rates in September, 27% versus 35% on Wednesday.

Market Focus
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