Saturday 2 August 2014

US employment rises, global manufacturing maintains growth

US economic data on Friday were mixed.

Nonfarm payrolls rose 209,000 in July after jumping by 298,000 in June. However, the unemployment rate rose to 6.2 percent from 6.1 percent as more people joined the labour force.

For the manufacturing sector, the Institute for Supply Management's PMI rose to 57.1 in July, the highest since April 2011, from 55.3 in June, but Markit's manufacturing PMI fell to 55.8 in July from 57.3 in June.

Consumer confidence also fell in July. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's final July reading on the consumer sentiment index came in at 81.8, down from the final June reading of 82.5.

Among US June data released on Friday, consumer spending rose 0.4 percent in June, the fifth consecutive increase, after rising by 0.3 percent in May. Income also rose 0.4 percent in June while the price index for consumer spending rose 0.2 percent.

Construction spending fell by 1.8 percent in June though after rising by 0.8 percent in May.

In the rest of the world, reports on Friday showed that manufacturing activity continued to expand in July.

China's official manufacturing PMI rose to 51.7 in July, the highest since April 2012, from 51.0 in June. The HSBC/Markit PMI also rose to 51.7, an 18-month peak.

However, the manufacturing PMI for the euro area was unchanged at 51.8 in July, the CIPS/Markit PMI for the UK fell to 55.4 in July from 57.2 in June, and the Markit/JMMA Japan manufacturing PMI fell to 50.5 in July from 51.5 in June.

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