Investing.com – Here’s a preview of the top 3 things that could rock markets tomorrow
It’s 'Jobs Friday'
Nonfarm payrolls data, arguably one of the most important economic events of the month, is expected to show the US economy created 190,000 jobs in December.
Economists forecast the jobless rate to remain steady at 4.1% while average hourly earnings for December is expected rise to 0.3% from 0.2% in the previous month.
Investors will assess the nonfarm payrolls report for clues about the strength of the economy which could provide fresh direction for the dollar, U.S. 10-Year, and gold, as labor market conditions are one the measures the Federal Reserve considers in its monetary policy decisions.
The Federal Reserve minutes Wednesday showed fed members remained optimistic that recent gains in the labor market would continue.
Canada labour market report in focus
Canadian Labor market data for the month of December due Friday will be closely watched by investors after the previous report showed the economy created 79,500 jobs, confounding economists’ forecasts for 10,000 increase.
The oil sensitive Canadian dollar has benefited from bullish oil prices, and growing expectations that the Bank of Canada will move to hike rates in the first quarter of the year as Governor Poloz said recently that the economy was stronger after making “tremendous” progress over the last year.
USD/CAD traded at $1.2490, down 0.38%.
Baker Hughes rig count
The weekly instalment of drilling activity from Baker Hughes on Friday, will provide investors with fresh insight into U.S. oil production and demand, after the number of active drilling rigs steadied in recent weeks.
The weekly rig count is an important barometer for the drilling industry and serves as a proxy for oil production and oil services demand.
At Thursday’s settlement price, crude futures rose 38 cents to settle at a three-year high of $62.01 after data showed US crude inventories fell more-than-expected fuelling optimism for a more rapid pace of rebalancing in oil markets.