US jobs growth in August is much stronger than forecast. Markets now see a 50/50 chance the Fed will hike this month, but the US dollar is still soft. And New Zealand’s construction output beats expectations.
In our deep-dive interview,ANZ Economist Sophia Angala reviews how Australia’s housing market slowed further in August.
5 things to know in 5 minutes:
The US economy generated an extra 162,000 jobs in August, which was nearly triple the consensus expectations, and helped keep the unemployment rate at 4.1%, which was in line with forecasts, says ANZ’s Head of G3 Economics, Brian Martin.
Brian says the jobs figures led to a slight strengthening of market expectations for the Fed to hike next week to around 50/50, although it’s clear the Fed’s decision-making committee, the FOMC, is split.
So if the Fed hikes, will that boost the US dollar, which has been weak for the last couple of months? Not necessarily, says ANZ’s Head of FX Research Mahjabeen Zaman.
Mahjabeen says the recent selloff in US Treasury bond markets has also weakened the US dollar.
New Zealand’s Building Work Put in Place increased 4.8% in the June quarter from the March quarter, which was much higher than market expectations, says ANZ Senior Economist Matt Galt.
Cheers,
Bernard.
PS: Catch you tomorrow with a closer look at how data centre building is affecting the global economy with ANZ Group Chief Economist Richard Yetsenga.
