| Time | Country | Event | Period | Previous value | Forecast | Actual |
|---|
| 00:00 | Australia | MI Inflation Gauge, m/m | December | 0.3% | | 0.2% |
| 00:30 | Australia | Building Permits, m/m | November | -13.6% | 0% | 3.6% |
During today's Asian trading, the US dollar rose against the euro and yen, stabilized against the pound, and declined against the Australian dollar.
The dollar is supported by expectations of an early interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve System (Fed). Data on the US labor market, released on Friday, showed a less significant than expected increase in the number of jobs in the US in December, but the decline in unemployment exceeded experts' forecasts.
The number of jobs in the United States increased by 199 thousand after rising by 249 thousand in November, unemployment fell to 3.9% - the lowest since February 2020, the US Department of Labor reported. Experts expected an increase in the number of jobs by 450 thousand and a decrease in unemployment to 4.1% from November's 4.2%. The health of the US labor market is a key factor in the Fed's monetary policy decisions.
The minutes of the Fed's December meeting, published last week, showed the "hawkish" attitude of the Fed's leaders. "The participants of the meeting mainly noted that, taking into account their own forecasts for the economy, the labor market and inflation, a rate increase or a faster rate of its rise may be required sooner than previously expected," the minutes showed.
In addition, the document noted that at the time of the meeting held on December 13-14, "several participants believed that conditions in the American labor market basically correspond to the concept of full employment."
The rapid progress in the recovery of the US labor market and the "hawkish" signals that could be seen in the minutes of the December Fed meeting suggest that the normalization of monetary policy by the Fed will occur faster than expected, Goldman Sachs analysts noted, and added that the Fed may raise the rate four times this year and begin reducing the amount of assets on the balance sheet no later than July.
The ICE index, which tracks the dynamics of the dollar against six currencies (euro, swiss franc, yen, canadian dollar, pound sterling and swedish krona), rose 0.20%.