Market taking a breather

The market is caught between the testimony from Fed Chair Powell the previous two days and the US non-farm payroll numbers that will be released tomorrow. Unsurprisingly, most of the market drifted sideways today, with the Rand being case in point with the currency trading within a 10-cent range and currently finding itself at R18.60. We did see the US jobless claims coming in worse than expected (215k vs. 195k), which is a downturn from the last good data that we have seen out of the US. The US dollar has lost a little ground after that but is still below the 1.0600 level against the Euro as we move into tomorrow's non-farm number.

Commodities find so footing after jobless claims

Commodities look rather forlorn with the possibility of US data coming in better than expected and another surge in the US dollar. However, with the weaker-than-expected US number, we have seen both Gold and Oil being bouyed, with Gold trading at $1,830 per ounce and Brent Crude oil trading at $83 per barrel. This is a precursor for tomorrow, where a weaker non-farm payroll number could see a swift rise in commodity prices and vice versa.

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