The US has seen a rise of 0.5% in unit labor costs, better than expected. However, this came on the back of a big downwards revision for Q1: only 2.3% instead of 6.7% originally reported. Productivity rose by 1.3%, lower than expected, but on the back of an upwards revision: from a drop of 3.1% to a slide of only 1.1%.
The confusing data triggered some choppy action, but nothing extraordinary.
The US was expected to report no change in labor costs for Q2 2015 following a leap of 6.7% in Q1. This is the preliminary read and carries weight as it works as another measure of wage growth and the overall health of the economy. Non-farm productivity carried expectations for +1.6% after a drop of 3.1%.
EUR/USD strengthened on the back of the Greek deal while the rest of the currencies were on the back foot against the greenback following the Chinese yuan devaluation. — more coming
The big event of the week is the release of US retail sales. This will give a good indication of the US economy.
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