Non-farm payrolls, a closely watched gauge of US job creation, has failed to meet consensus expectations today of an increase of 189k new jobs, instead recording 155k in November. This points to a significant slowdown following from October's figure of 237k, though wage growth has remained unchanged over the month at a touch over 3 per cent year on year. Whilst the release came in below expectations, the US Federal Reserve (FED) commented yesterday that the US economy and labour market remains strong. Despite this, markets are taking today's news as a sign that the FED will be less likely to implement all currently planned rate hikes for 2019. Consequently, the US dollar saw heightened volatility after the release and remains weaker on the day as lower interest rates tend to lead to a weaker currency. Conversely, gold saw gains thanks to a weaker US dollar in which it is priced, US stock market futures turned positive, and safer assets such as US government bonds fell marginally.
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