When it comes to US data - once again, there is more than meets the eye. Even though non-farm payrolls increased by only 92k in the month of October, the September payrolls figure was revised upwards from 51k to 148k, making the 2 month average 120k, which is well within market expectations.
The unemployment rate inched lower to 4.4 percent from 4.6 percent, the lowest level since May 2001. Average hourly earnings rose at a healthy 3.9 percent pace while average weekly hours increased from 33.8 to 33.9. Therefore even though we had a less than 100k payroll print, this suggests that the labor market remains tight, which should keep the Federal Reserve in their seats at least through the first quarter. This should also help the dollar in the short term as the market makes adjustments to interest rate expectations.
