Trade war & NFP in focus this weekSeveral fundamental factors will have a strong impact on financial markets in this first week of June, as uncertainty surrounding the trade war remains high. However, there was some good news last Friday, with US PCE inflation continuing to move towards the Fed's target despite tariffs.
This week, two fundamental factors are under close scrutiny: US labor market figures (NFP report) and, of course, as every week, the current phase of trade diplomacy.
1) US PCE inflation is still trending towards 2% and is not rebounding despite the trade war
US inflation and employment are the two key variables for considering a resumption of the decline in the federal funds rate, with Trump receiving Powell at the White House at the end of last week. However, the Fed has reiterated its independence and the future direction of its monetary policy will continue to be guided by specific macroeconomic objectives: bringing inflation back to 2% and neutralizing any rise in unemployment.
Good news! Last Friday's update on US inflation according to the PCE price index showed that tariffs did not cause inflation to rise in April. On the contrary, the nominal inflation rate is now 2.1% and core inflation is 2.5%. Disinflation therefore seems set to continue in the US despite the tariffs, but this still needs to be confirmed.
2) The market does not expect any rate cuts before September
Despite these good PCE inflation figures for April (PCE being the Fed's preferred measure of inflation) and pressure on the Fed from the Trump administration, the market does not expect the federal funds rate to resume its downward trend before the monetary policy decision in September.
The debate remains open for the July 30 monetary policy meeting, so the upcoming updates on US employment (NFP report) and inflation will have a decisive impact.
3) The NFP report on Friday, June 6, will be crucial this week!
In this first week of June, the US labor market will be the fundamental highlight of the week. All US employment statistics will be updated, with the NFP report on Friday, June 6 being the most important. While it appears that the trade war has not yet pushed inflation up, what about the labor market? Remember that the US unemployment rate is 4.2% of the labor force and that the Fed's alert threshold is 4.4% of the labor force. If it turns out that US companies have had to lay off workers due to the economic uncertainty linked to the trade war, this could accelerate the upcoming schedule for lowering US federal funds rates.
Finally, remember that the market is hoping for a phone call between Trump and the Chinese president to finally reach a trade agreement between China and the US. This is a fundamental thread to follow every day on the stock market.
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