Thursday, May 3, 2007

FX Consolidates Ahead of Data

At 8:30 AM US Q1 Productivity (exp 1.0%, prev 1.6%)
US Q1 Labor Costs (exp 4.0%, prev 6.6%)
US Weekly Jobless Claims (exp 325k, prev 321k)
At 10:00 AM US April non-manufacturing ISM (exp 53.0, prev 52.4)

Currencies remained confined within recent ranges with a lack of fresh impetus and traders sidelined ahead of Friday’s US jobs data. The greenback was mixed overnight, holding firm above the 120-level against the yen while relinquishing the 1.36-mark versus the euro.

Economic data will be the focus today, with productivity, labor costs, jobless claims and services ISM due out. The Q1 productivity number is forecasted to drop to 1.0%, from 1.6% while labor costs are seen slipping to 4.0%. Weekly jobless are largely unchanged at 325k, up slightly from the prior week at 321k. Lastly, we have non-manufacturing ISM for April, estimated to improve to 53.0 from a 52.4 reading from March.

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