Friday preview: US non-farm payrolls, Fedspeak in the spotlight

(Sharecast News) - As occurs at the start of each month, all eyes will turn towards the US on Friday and the release of the latest monthly non-farm payrolls figures. Consensus is for hiring to have picked up to a pace of around 200,000 people in November after a mere 12,000 person increase in October.

But even if economists forecasts are correct, the average for the last two months would still show a decidedly softer pace of hiring, although on a three-month basis payrolls would be up by a more respectable 150,000.

Hurricanes and strikes are thought to have subtracted around 100,000 from October's pace of hiring.

The unemployment rate meanwhile is seen ticking higher by one tenth of a percentage point to 4.2%.



For his part, heading into today's payrolls report, Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management noted the recent upgrade by the Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank's GDPNow model of its fourth quarter US GDP growth estimate to 3.3%.

Also due out are the preliminary results for the University of Michigan's consumer confidence survey covering the month of December.

At least four top Fed officials are also scheduled to take to the podium following the release of the latest jobs data.

In the UK, overnight Halifax will publish its House Price Index for November.

It will be followed at 0700 BST by German industrial production data.

Friday 06 December

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INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS

Balance of Trade (GER) (07:00)

Consumer Credit (US) (20:00)

Gross Domestic Product (EU) (10:00)

Industrial Production (GER) (07:00)

Non-Farm Payrolls (US) (13:30)

Unemployment Rate (US) (13:30)

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