It’s gonna be a great day in the financial markets—don’t miss it! Today we’ll get a read on several important U.S. economic indicators. Tucked into the U.S. docket is some very important data, including the MBA Mortgages, ADP Employment Change, import/export prices. Investors might be particularly looking forward to the ISM Services PMI report. They seek regular reporting on industrial and manufacturing production, as these will provide crucial signals into the health of key sectors.
In terms of overall importance, the ADP Employment Change report is right up there. It serves as a sort of early indicator to the big employment numbers due later this week. This data is extremely important for understanding employment overall and will almost certainly affect market sentiment. Export and import prices will help illuminate inflationary pressures across the economy.
Alongside these reports, the ISM Services PMI will be released. This index provides an indication of activity in the services sector, which makes up the bulk of the U.S. economy. Those industrial and manufacturing production figures will give us important truth serum about the state of the economy. Capacity utilization gauges are due as well. These indicators need to be combined to get a sense of how much of the economy’s productive capacity we’re currently using.
In the meantime, international markets are already responding to these expected issuances. The GBPUSD currency pair, seen above, has recently just penetrated the important support level at 1.3200. Specifically, this development is a very bearish development British pound vs. U.S. dollar. The AUD/USD race to new three week highs, nearing the 0.6570 area. This increase is due to a more positive Australian dollar, boosted by the generally positive market sentiment.
Silver has seen a lot of volatility, pulling back from Monday’s all-time highs and even dipping below the $57.00 per ounce level for a short time today. This volatility is likely due to emerging market conditions and changing investor appetites for safe haven assets.
Japan continues to be the star of Asia as we look ahead to the final S&P Global Services PMI. This information will give economists and analysts greater insight into the direction of the economy. Other services have been the laggard and this report will help sharpen the focus on the performance of Japan’s service sector.
On the other front, downward pressure is building on crude oil prices. The EIA’s weekly report on U.S. crude oil stockpiles is expected today and could further influence market trends in energy commodities. As WTI prices continued to slip on Tuesday, traders are keeping a close eye on the supply-demand picture and geopolitical tensions that are roiling oil markets.