“Payrolls” report in the US today

The euro and sterling are largely unchanged against the dollar this morning trading at just over $1.18 and just below $1.32 respectively, leaving the single currency-pound rate hovering a touch above the 89p level. US equity markets sold off quite sharply yesterday, led by the NASDAQ which closed more than 5% lower on the day, while core bond yields edged down again

The Composite PMI readings for the main economies published yesterday suggest the pace of increase in economic activity picked up in the US and the UK in August but moderated in the Euro Area

Retail sales in the Euro Area slipped in July, although this followed a very strong rebound in spending in May-June as the economy re-opened, falling by 1.3% in volume terms on the month

The number of continuing claims for jobless benefits in the US fell further through the first three weeks of August, pointing to a continuing rebound in the number in employment from its April plunge of more than 20 million

Today’s “payrolls” report in the US is expected to show employment rose by further 1.4 million last month according to the consensus forecast, with the unemployment rate falling to just under 10% – down from a peak of over 14% in April but still well above the multi-decade low of 3.5% recorded just before the pandemic erupted

Other data due today include the construction PMI in the UK