OPEC+ Delays Meeting, U.S. Nonfarm Payrolls Are Under The Radar

 | Jul 02, 2021 04:20AM ET

Yesterday, we received slightly disappointing manufacturing PMI data from various countries across the globe. Nevertheless, the numbers stayed in expansionary territories. OPEC+ delays meeting due to disagreements in production output. Today, the spotlight may fall on the US NFPs, as the Fed will keep a close eye on the jobs numbers as well.h2 Slight Disappointment In The Data /h2

It was quite an eventful day yesterday, in terms of economic data releases. Thursday’s morning kicked off with China delivering its Caixin Manufacturing PMI figure, which showed up at 51.3, when the initial expectation was for a slight decline only from the previous 52.0 to 51.8. Although the actual number came as a disappointment, market participants are still keeping their “positive hats” on, as the number still shows that Chinese manufacturing remains in expansionary territory. UK’s manufacturing PMI also failed to beat the forecast and came out at 63.9, against the initially expected 64.2. The British currency was the biggest loser yesterday among its major counterparts.

The US dollar was the strongest yesterday, as it took the role of a safe-haven, due to a slight disappointment in the US data releases. Although the US initial jobless claims were on the better side, as the number came out below the initial forecast, the continuing jobless claims failed to beat expectations. This means that despite a small decline in the number of new people filing for unemployment benefits, there is still a vast number of US citizens continuing to seek financial support from the government. The ISM manufacturing PMI for June also came out as a disappointment, at 60.6, which is slightly below the initial forecast of 61.0, which was already lower than the previous 61.2. Although the US indices closed in positive territory, the gains were on the modest side.