Over the last two weeks the U.S. dollar has weakened marginally. Foreign currencies have strengthened moderately. Gold has firmed on the softer dollar. U.S. stock indices remain in record high territory.
The U.S. monthly employment report last Friday showed weaker than expected growth. This weak report has many traders confused as to what the Federal Reserve will do with interest rates at their upcoming meeting. Until the most recent employment report most investors had assumed there was to be an increase in U.S. rates at the next Fed meeting. Now investors will have to wait to see the effect of the weaker jobs growth.
The most immediate concern for traders is the UK election due June 8. Recently the Tory lead over the Labor party has declined from 20 points to only 3 points. The Labor party has said they would look into nationalization of some parts of the UK economy if they return to power.