The U.S. economy added 528,000 jobs in July, more than double market expectations of 250,000, and job gains were revised up by 28,000 for the prior two months. Trends in employment remain strong, with the three-month moving average payrolls at 437,000 and the six-month moving average at 465,000.
Tightening financial conditions and the year-to-date increase in interest rates continue to adversely impact the trajectory of the US and Global economy. Notably the advance report on second quarter GDP exhibited negative growth for the second quarter in a row, coming in at -0.9% compared to the -1.6% reading in the first quarter of 2022.
Financial market participants continued to assess the impact of higher energy prices and new inflation data on the economy and the future path of interest rates this week. US inflation data was worse than expected in May, hitting a 40-year high with broad based price increases for most goods and services.
