Wall Street retreats after lukewarm payrolls

US equities slid on Friday after December’s US nonfarm payrolls data came in below estimate. US and China are expected to sign the first phase of their trade agreement mid-week while Japan markets are closed for a holiday today.

US30USD Daily Chart

Source: OANDA fxTrade

• The US30 index snapped a two-day winning streak on Friday following the lackluster US employment data

• The 55-day moving average, which has supported prices since October 10, has moved up to 27,976

• The US economy is added 145,000 jobs in December, less than the 164,000 expected. The unemployment rate held steady at 3.5%, as expected while average hourly earnings rose 0.1% m/m, less than forecast. There are no major data releases scheduled for today.

DE30EUR Daily Chart

Source: OANDA fxTrade

• The Germany30 closed lower for the first time in four days on Friday, echoing the weakness seen on Wall Street

• The index is still above the 55-day moving average at 13,162, which has supported prices on a closing basis since October 8

• Germany’s wholesale prices for December are due today. They fell 0.1% m/m in November.

WTICOUSD Daily Chart

Source: OANDA fxTrade

• West Texas Intermediate declined for a fifth straight day on Friday, the longest losing streak since September-October last year

• The 55-day moving average is at $58.465 while the 50% retracement of the October-January rally is at $58.361. The 55-day moving average has supported prices since December 3

• Rising inventories and a scaling back of Middle East tensions are responsible for the current weakness. Tomorrow we get to see the weekly stockpiles data to January 10 from the American Petroleum Institute. Last week saw a drawdown of 5.95 million barrels.