• US NONFARM PAYROLLS
• UK GOVERNMENT BACK EU DEAL
• US HOUSE VOTES ON WAR POWERS
Traders will be waiting for today’s employment data, due an hour before the US open. US Non-Farm Payrolls are expected in at 165K down from November’s reading of 266K. The US ADP numbers this week significantly increased over expectations and our analysis shows that US tax receipts for the month of December were the largest in 36 months from which we conclude, that there was a significant job increase or wages have risen. UK business increased their permanent staff count for the first time in a year, which some will attribute to certainty over the next 5 years with a Tory majority government, giving business more confidence.
The UK government was able to pass the European Union Bill yesterday, allowing PM Johnson to get a step closer to leaving the EU at the end of January with a deal, minimising UK economic disruption. The Withdrawal Agreement is now with the House of Lords and is likely to become law in the coming weeks.
The US House of Representatives voted to limit President Trump from further military action against Iran without consent from Congress. This is unlikely to pass when the measure is voted on by the Senate which is controlled by Trump’s Republican Party. Reports came in last night that Israel targeted Iranian weapons within Syria close to the Iraq border. The Ukraine Airline Boeing 737-800 which crashed and killed all on board just after the retaliatory Iranian missile strikes, is thought to have been accidentally brought down by a Russian made SA-15 Gauntlet (Tor-M1) missile system which is used by Iranian forces. Tensions in the area are likely to stay high as Canadian and British passengers were onboard.