07:35am   I have just sent off my daily ‘Trading-Guidance’ email to subscribers and now going to do a few hours of emails before having the rest of the day off from trading as it’s Non Farm Payrolls day in the U.S. so markets will be quiet this morning and quite volatile this afternoon.

Market Update:

Traders are waiting for what should be quite a good U.S. jobs report today but which way the market will eventually go is anyone’s guess. With a rise in employment comes the prospect of better economic conditions which should cause the market to rally but on the other side of the coin, Janet Yellen may decide that as the economy is expanding it’s time for an interest rate rise (as she’s already hinted at earlier this week) and that’s bad for big businesses that borrow money and also for consumers who’s mortgage payments will go up. So all you can safely predict is that equity markets will go up and down fairly sharply this afternoon but the direction they settle down to next Monday/Tuesday should be a hint as to where they’re going for the next few weeks.

Over on the oil market, there is still a glut of crude looking for buyers so the prospect for U.S. WTI Crude prices to rise looks slim after two straight days of falls following disappointing inventory numbers on Wednesday. The price has been stuck in a fairly narrow trading range for the last two months but the weekly chart is now looking decidedly bearish – current price is $45:60 down from a high on Wednesday of $48:33.emi