ADP Employment Change data to be released today in the US - 5.1.2023

On Wednesday, the US dollar index corrected down. The ISM United States Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index stood at 48.4 in December. It continued to decline and reached its lowest level since May 2020, when there was an epidemic of coronavirus. This morning Germany Trade Balance for November was released. Unexpectedly, it turned out to be very positive (+10.8 billion euros). This can support the euro.

Bitcoin quotes have stopped growing and continue to be around $16,800. The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) needed more information about the possible acquisition of crypto-exchange Binance by crypto-lending organization Voyager Digital.

Yesterday, US stock indices rose. After the publication of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) Minutes, investors believe that the growth of the Fed rate in 2023 will be limited to 5%. Thus, there is only a small upside from its current level of 4.5%. The lower the Fed rate, the more attractive stocks look to invest. An additional positive was the good data on the US labor market in November JOLTs Job Openings. ADP Employment Change report for December and United States Trade Balance for November will be released today in the USA. 

On Wednesday, oil quotes fell for the 2nd day in a row. The American Petroleum Institute reported an increase in US oil inventories for the week by 3.3 million barrels. In addition, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) reported an increase in production in December by 120 thousand bpd compared to November - up to 29 million bpd.

Natural gas prices in Europe on ICE Dutch TTF fell to an 11-month low of $700 per 1,000 cubic meters. American gas on Henry Hub rose to $4 mmBtu.