- Non-Farm payroll figures today key indicator
- Brexit shook the global markets
- FED hikes off the table
- US Dollar well overvalued
With all the attention on the UK’s vote to leave the EU, it would appear that investors have forgotten about the warning signs for the US economy. May’s Non-Farm payroll figures saw sharp drops to its lowest levels since 2010 which raises alarms for employment. Today’s release is expected to outperform May’s figures but not to levels seen in the early months of 2016.
Non-farm payroll is a key barometer of US growth and in the event today’s release follows similar trends to May, it could be a signal for slower growth. Given that the markets are still reacting to Brexit are today’s figures likely to outperform?
Keep an eye on today’s release, another month of low numbers could see shifts in the US Dollar.
With this in mind, if we cast our minds back to Janet Yellen’s meeting with congress, she discussed the reasons for slower economic growth and changed her interest rate forecasts for 2017 and 2018.
And with 4 initial rate hikes promised this year, this number is looking now likely to be 1.
So what has driven this level of uncertainty since the FED announced 4 rate hikes? Janet Yellen points to global economic slowdown, mixed data releases and now Brexit as some of the reasons for keeping rates on hold.
The markets continue to pile into the US Dollar post-Brexit and this is where concerns begin to surface. With a number of signs pointing to economic slowdown in the US, I fear that the US Dollar is overvalued and any signs now of negative growth could see the Dollar tumbling. Today’s non-farm payroll figures could be the first major indicator and investors will be watching it with scrutiny.