Once again the last Friday of the new month will bring the latest US jobs data, although the September numbers are unlikely to impress due to the impact of the hurricanes that battered Texas and Florida during the month.
Hurricane Harvey which blew through Houston might have had a slight impact on payrolls growth in August, with the 156,000 jobs added then less than economists had forecast.
But Hurricane Irma, which resulted in major evacuations in Florida and other parts of the south-eastern states in September, could wipe out any jobs growth altogether last month, with economists at Jefferies International expecting the combination of both storms to result in a 45,000 decline in non-farm payrolls.
After leaving interest rates unchanged a fortnight ago, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said that “payroll employment may be substantially affected in September” by the storms.
But she added that she expected labor market conditions would “strengthen somewhat further” keeping up expectations for a likely US rate hike in December whatever the jobs data throws up.
House prices viewed
After prime minister Theresa May this week gave a boost to house builders with plans to extend the Help to Buy programme, the state of the UK housing market will be eyed today, with the latest Halifax house prices survey due for release.
UK house price growth unexpectedly picked up last month, underpinned by strong employment growth and a shortage of properties on the market, according to Britain’s biggest mortgage lender.
The average price of a house rose by 1.1% to £222,293 in August, Halifax said, with prices in the three months to August 2.6% higher than a year earlier, against an annual rate of 2.1% in the three months to July - which was a four-year low.
Annual price growth has slowed from a peak of 10% in March 2016, but home sales have exceeded 100,000 for seven months running, according to the Halifax’s measure
Significant events expected on Friday October 6:
Trading update: Motorpoint Group PLC (LON:MOTR)
Economic data: Halifax UK house prices report; US non-farm payrolls, average earnings data