- The Pound Sterling extends its downside to 1.2410 as the United Kingdom ONS has reported weak labor market data. The ILO Unemployment Rate for the three months ending February rose sharply to 4.2% from expectations of 4.0% and the prior reading of 4.0% (revised from 3.9%). In February, employers fired 156K workers, higher than the prior reading of 89K, upwardly revised from 21K.
- In March, Claimant Count Change, which indicates the change in number of individuals claiming jobless benefits, was lower at 10.9K vs. expectations of 17.2K and the prior reading of 4.1K (revised from 16.8K).
- In the three months ending February, Average Earnings including bonuses rose steadily by 5.6%, beating the consensus of 5.5%. In the same period, Average Earnings excluding bonuses slowed to 6.0% against the former reading of 6.1%.
- Weak labor demand clearly shows the consequences of interest rates remaining higher by the Bank of England (BoE). The rising jobless rates and poor labor demand exhibit a vulnerable economic outlook, which could force the BoE to pivot to rate cuts sooner than expected.
- The market sentiment remains risk-averse amid fears of further escalation in Middle East tensions and deepening uncertainty about when the Federal Reserve will start reducing interest rates. Eventually, strong demand for safe-haven assets has pushed the US Dollar Index (DXY) to 106.30.
- The Israeli military said it would respond to Iran’s attack in their territory that happened on April 13 in which the latter launched hundreds of missiles and drones. This has deepened fears of war spreading beyond Gaza in the Middle East region.
- United States robust Retail Sales data, combined with strong labor demand and higher consumer price inflation in March have strengthened the argument that Fed policymakers could delay rate cuts later this year.
- San Francisco Fed Bank President Mary Daly said on Friday that there is absolutely no urgency to start reducing interest rates. Daly added that there is still more work to do to make sure that inflation is on course to return to the desired rate of 2%. She emphasized keeping interest rates restrictive for a longer period.
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