The US labour market data for December will be today’s major economic announcement. Payrolls are expected to increase by 170k vs. the previous 199k back in December.
Despite the tight market, pay growth slowed last year, and more indications of this are expected today, with annual growth falling to 3.9% from 4.0% earlier.
Overall, the report is likely to show that interest rates have peaked but will not provide strong evidence for the Federal Reserve to decrease rates sooner.
The December construction PMI survey in the UK is anticipated to show a somewhat slower rate of contraction. According to the consensus forecasts, the headline index will grow from 45.5 to 46.1, remaining below the critical 50 level.
The main currency pairings were trading in very narrow ranges. The dollar was under some marginal downward pressure among the few market movements to note. However, the greenback quickly recovered its losses. Meanwhile, the yen was on the defensive, losing about 1%.