Market Focus

On Friday, 02.02.2018, attention should be focused on data on the number of people employed in non-agricultural sectors and the unemployment rate in the US. The indicator of employment is an estimation of the total number of wage workers passing on payroll of enterprises in the country. The indicator shows the change in the level of employment in the country. The unemployment rate determines the percentage of the total workforce that is unemployed and actively seeking work in the US. The growth of the indicator indicates weakness in the US labor market, and its decline is positive.

According to the forecast, the change in the number of employees in January will be 157 thousand, which is higher than the previous value of 148 thousand. The unemployment rate will drop to the level of 4.0%, against the previous value of 4.1%. Given the negative sentiment in the market against the US dollar based on the plan to raise interest rates, the release of data within the forecast can only provide little support for the US currency.

Alexander Sivtsov