Weekly Market Update (20 September 2021) – Australian jobs market greatly weakened by recent spike in COVID cases

#OPINIONLEADER#

ByLCMS Traders FX Analysis Team

 SEP 20, 2021

(1) The annual UK CPI data released last week indicated that prices rose to a 9-year high level. The 1.2% monthly rise alone was the highest figure ever recorded. The Office of National Statistics (ONS) highlighted that the main reason behind the rise in prices is due to a base effect. The Eat Out to Help Out scheme that was implemented in the UK last year led to a decline in restaurant meal prices in August 2020. As a result, there will be a big rise in prices during the recovery phase.

(2) The Australian job market suffered a loss of 146,300 jobs in August as lockdown measures were reimposed in an attempt to combat the rising number of COVID cases. Despite so, unemployment rate declined. This is due to a decline in the number of job seekers, leading to a lower labor participation rate.

(3) Consumer spending in the U.S. during the month of August rose by 0.7% instead of the forecasted decline by 0.7%. This surprisingly good data was mainly driven by back-to-school shopping as more schools in the U.S. are resuming in-class learning. The August report also sees an increase in the number of online shoppers amid the rising concerns of the pandemic, causing online sales to rise by 5.3%.