Wednesday preview: US jobs data, Services PMIs in focus

The market spotlight on Wednesday was likely to be on the so-called JOLTS labour market survey in the US.

A tally of job openings in the economy included in that report was a closely-followed gauge of the degree of slack in the country's labour market and hence of upwards pressures on wages, which was a key focus of the Federal Reserve at the moment.

It would be released at 1500 GMT, alongside the Institute for Supply Management's closely-followed survey of conditions in the US services sector during the month of December.

Following that, at 1900 GMT the US Federal Reserve was scheduled to release the minutes of its last policy meeting.

Investors in the euro area were also expected to be focused on services sector activity as S&P Global published the results of its own activity survey for the bloc.

Consumer credit and mortgage lending growth figures for the UK in November were also set for release, at 0930 GMT.

Overnight, Japan's Ministry of Economics would publish industrial production data for November.

Wednesday 04 January

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INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS

Crude Oil Inventories (US) (15:30)

FOMC Interest Rate Minutes (US) (19:00)

Import Price Index (GER) (07:00)

ISM Manufacturing (US) (15:00)

ISM Prices Paid (US) (15:00)

MBA Mortgage Applications (US) (12:00)

PMI Composite (EU) (09:00)

PMI Composite (GER) (08:55)

PMI Services (EU) (09:00)

PMI Services (GER) (08:55)

EGMS

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UK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS

BRC Shop Price Index (00:01)

Consumer Credit (09:30)

M4 Money Supply (09:30)

Mortgage Approvals (09:30)