Despite Capitol Hill invasion, US Democrats control House, Senate and White House

Weekly Market Update 8 Jan 2021 – Despite Capitol Hill invasion, US Democrats control House, Senate and White House

1. With the win in Georgia, Democrats will finally have control of the House, Senate and White House for the first time in 10 years. However, this was briefly halted by a surprise invasion of Capitol Hill during the Electoral vote count by supporters of the incumbent US President Trump. As the objections and interruptions will likely just delay the inevitable, there were no disruptions to the markets, judging from the well performing risk trades

2. US Non Farm Payrolls fell by 140,000 in December 2020, as compared to an increase of 336,000 in November, and an expected December figure of +71,000. This is mostly attributed to the decline in employment in leisure and hospitality sectors, specifically in food services and drinking places. This wide margin suggests that the Fed may implement additional measures, and thereby putting further downward pressure on the dollar

3. With downward revisions to December PMIs, EUR and GBP lagged (though the rising virus cases and lockdown in UK suggests GBP should be trading much lower) while AUD and NZD outperformed. CAD does not seem to be too affected by the higher oil prices and an upcoming output cut