The markets did a 'pop and flop' on the 'better than expected' payroll numbers. While the number did beat expectations, it was largely due to temporary hiring for Christmas delivery and sales that was not properly deseasonalized.
I did not write something about this, but I do wish to point out something new. The BLS has always rounded the headline number of course, but now they are starting to round the 'raw number' as shown in the first picture below. That I have never seen before.
Considering that the headline number these days is around a couple hundred thousand, rounding the raw number to the nearest hundred thousand is almost bizarre.
Gold and silver moved around after the big rally at the first of the week. I think this is the market level they would have been at before the very conscious smackdown at the year end to make the mark-to-market on their short positions look better.
What next? Earnings season starts on Monday with Alcoa, and there will be another European debt meeting on Monday.
Have a great weekend.
