The Fed’s rate decision, monthly U.S. jobs report, manufacturing PMI numbers, and U.S.-China trade negotiations will take center stage this week. The Fed is widely expected to keep rates on hold as Fed Chair Jay Powell’s press conferences garner increased scrutiny.
On the jobs front, the consensus forecast is that U.S. nonfarm payrolls expanded by 160,000 in January. As for U.S.-China relations, the Financial Times reports: “China’s vice premier Liu He visits Washington on Thursday and Friday for a second round of negotiations aimed at resolving the US-China trade war. US negotiators were upbeat after talks in Beijing that the two sides would be able to resolve tariff disputes that have rattled global markets. President Donald Trump and Chinese president Xi Jinping agreed to stop the tit-for-tat tariff battle for 90 days from the turn of the year. If no deal is reached by March, US tariffs on $200bn of Chinese goods will be ratcheted up from 10 to 25 per cent.” Manufacturing PMI numbers in China, the U.S., and Europe will also be in focus, along with German data on consumer price inflation, retail sales, and unemployment. The consensus forecast is that U.S. manufacturing PMI eased in January but remained in expansionary territory (53.6). Have a great week and don’t miss next week’s ISRI Market Report for an update on the latest economic, trade, commodity, and scrap market highlights!
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