NFP for August 3!
As the first Friday of the month approaches, traders and economists will be dusting off their crystal balls in anticipation of the release of the July Non-farm payrolls report. Current estimates are for payrolls to have increased by between 130,000 and 140,000 jobs last month after increasing by 132,000 in June. The unemployment rate is expected to have remained steady at 4.5%. Average hourly earnings (a measure of wage inflation) are expected to have increased by 0.3%. Traders will also look for any revisions to the May and June employment numbers to gauge the trend in payrolls. They’ll need to set those alarm clocks early again – the Labor Department releases the July payrolls report at 7:30 AM Chicago time on Friday.
Coffee Futures Perk Up!
New York Coffee futures soared this morning, moving above the key 50- and 100-day moving averages as local and speculative buying triggered buy stops above recent highs. A rally in the London Robusta futures this morning added spillover support to the N.Y. Arabica futures. Government subsidies are allowing Brazilian growers to hold back new-crop Coffee supplies in the hopes of higher prices later in the year, when roasters start to accumulate inventories to meet winter demand. The Brazilian Green Coffee Exporters Council reported preliminary figures for Brazilian Coffee exports for the August 1st period at 59,117 60-kg bags versus 37,110 bags this time last month. 117.95 is seen as the next resistance point for September Coffee, with support found at the 20-day moving average at 112.30. September Coffee closed at 116.20, up 3.10.
