- Russell Price, a senior economist at Ameriprise Financial Inc.
A slew of employment data came out yesterday in the U.S. ADP reported that U.S. companies hired 204,000 workers in August, below analysts projections of 220,000. Last month's figure was revised downwards to 212,000 from 220,000. ADP employment change is considered as one of the leading indicator of labour market health. Meanwhile, the number of new claims for U.S. unemployment benefits rose last week by 4,000 to 302,000, slightly below the four-week moving average of 302,750. Continuing jobless claims for the week ended August 23 dropped to 2.464 million, compared to a revised 2.528 million in the previous week and below estimates of 2.510 million. A stronger pace of hiring is helping brighten Americans' moods about the labour market and limiting filings for unemployment claims. The US unemployment rate plummeted to 6.2% in July, from 7.3% a year ago.
Separately, the Institute for Supply Management said that the pace of growth in the U.S. services sector surprisingly breached above its highest in more than eight years in August, with non-manufacturing composite index booking 59.6, up from 58.7 seen in July. Meanwhile, the U.S. trade deficit fell 0.6% in July to its lowest level since January, as exports rose 0.9% to a record $198 billion. Imports also climbed, rising 0.7% to $238.6 billion, as shipments of food, beverages and autos from abroad increased.
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