Payrolls increase
A solid payrolls report in the US, with nonfarm employment up 315,000 (versus 300,000) expected.
There were downward revisions of -107,000, so the 3-month average gain remained flat.
Average hourly earnings were unchanged at 5.2 per cent year-on-year growth, slightly below market expectations.
The participation rate jumped from 62.1 per cent to 62.4 per cent, and the unemployment rate increased from 3.5 per cent to 3.7 per cent, which was the highest unemployment rate since February.
Inflation peak
Probably the biggest story in global markets at the moment is whether or not inflation has peaked, and if so how quickly will it come back down.
Some surveys suggest that there could be another monthly report of zero inflation ahead, but we've heard a lot of reports about transitory inflation over the past year which, to be fair, haven't always worked out quite so well!
Still, the ISM gauge suggests inflation will fall back from here, and perhaps quite quickly:
And, perhaps most importantly, 1-year ahead inflation expectations have fallen back to 2 per cent, which is the lowest level since all the way back in January 2021.
Here's hoping!
