Market Wire, North America

In this morning’s opening comments at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium, Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell avoided clearly telegraphing an accelerated easing cadence in months ahead, but noted growing concern about job market risks, helping ratify market expectations for a rapid easing cadence in the months ahead. In a widely-anticipated acknowledgement of a more balanced outlook, he said officials would do “everything we can to support a strong labour market as we make further progress toward price stability”, warning that “the upside risks to inflation have diminished, and the downside risks to employment have increased”. “The labour market is no...

Consumer price growth slowed as expected in the United States last month, keeping the Federal Reserve on a heading toward easing policy in September. According to data published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics this morning, the core consumer price index – with highly-volatile food and energy prices excluded – rose 3.2 percent in July from the same period last year, and climbed 0.2 percent on a month-over-month basis. This was precisely aligned with consensus estimates among economists polled by the major data providers ahead of the release. On a headline all-items basis, prices climbed 2.9 percent on a year-over-year...

US labour markets slowed far more than expected in July, making the economy more likely to gouge the runway as it lands in the months ahead. According to data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 114,000 jobs were added in the month, widely missing the 175,000 consensus forecast, and revisions to prior months saw overall gains lowered by a total 29,000 positions. Wage gains kept decelerating, pointing to a continued softening in demand for workers. Average hourly earnings climbed just 0.2 percent month-over-month, down from 0.3 percent in the prior month, and were up 3.6 percent year-over-year. Perhaps most...