Summary:

  • NFP moves back above 200k and wages rise; unemployment at 18-year low
  • USD higher as ISM beats forecasts
  • GBP on the rise after UK manufacturing rises
  • Italian government sworn in; Rajoy replaced by Sanchez
  • Bittrex to allow crypto trading in USD

The monthly payrolls numbers from the US always feature prominently on Trader’s radars and today’s release was even more keenly anticipated following a well-time Trump tweet. The US president posted on social media not long before the release, stating that he was “looking forward” to the numbers and he wouldn’t have been disappointed with a strong headline print above 200k beating expectations, wage growth ticking higher and the unemployment rate falling to an 18-year low.

The final economic release of the week of note has come in better than expected with the latest US manufacturing reading supporting the earlier NFP in portraying strength in the world’s largest economy. The ISM manufacturing PMI for May rose to 58.7 from 57.3, topping consensus forecasts that called for 58.3. The ISM could be seen as another positive for the USD which is rising against most of its peers on the day.

Spirits among UK manufactures unexpectedly improved in May as PMI escaped from its April’s 17-month low. At the same time, there were more evidence with regard to rising cost inflation, a sign keenly observed by market participants as it could point whether more rate hikes are needed this year. The Pound has moved higher across the board since the release and is even gaining against the USD. 

The week’s trade has been dominated by political twists and turns on the continent with the latest being Giuseppe Conte sworn in as Italy’s new PM this afternoon. There’s also been major political news from Spain with Pedro Sanchez replacing Mariano Rajoy as PM. When all is said and done its been a volatile week for European indices and while they have recovered from the Tuesday lows, they remain under pressure going forward. 

Bittrex, one of the biggest US cryptocurrency exchanges, announced on Thursday that it has partnered with Signature Bank. As a result the exchange will allow some customers to trade cryptocurrencies against US dollar. It’s been a relatively quiet day in the crypto space with small losses seen in all 5 markets. Bitcoin is lower by just over 1% on the European close and trades around the 7400 mark last.