Singapore: Labour market could improve in Q420 – UOB

Pablo Piovano FXStreet

In opinion of Economist Barnabas Gan at UOB Group, the labour market in Singapore is likely to improve during the October-December period.

Key Quotes

“Singapore’s overall unemployment rate rose further to 3.6% in the third quarter of 2020, according to the provisional data by the Ministry of Manpower. This marks the highest unemployment rate since 2004.”

“The unemployment rate among Singaporeans and permanent residents also rose in tandem to 4.7% and 4.9%, respectively. This translated to the total number of unemployed persons to 112,500, of which 97,700 are Singaporeans.”

“Despite the softening labour market, we note that the rise in retrenchment and overall unemployment rate has decelerated from previous readings.”

“Singapore’s labour market could improve in 4Q20, given the uptick in business sentiments and economic conditions. As such, we maintain our expectation for the unemployment rate to end at 3.5% in 4Q20.”

Author

Pablo Piovano

FXStreet

Born and bred in Argentina, Pablo has been carrying on with his passion for FX markets and trading since his first college years.

EUR/USD looks weak below 1.1800

EUR/USD has slipped back under pressure, breaking through the 1.1800 support and drifting towards the weekly lows near 1.1770 ahead of the opening bell in Asia. The move reflects renewed strength in the US Dollar, with steady geopolitical tensions keeping its demand firm. Moving forward, the release of the German labour market report and flash inflation figures should keep European investors entertained on Friday.

GBP/USD threatens the 200-day SMA near 1.3440

GBP/USD rapidly leaves behind Wednesday’s strong advance, coming under heavy pressure and retesting the 1.3440 zone, where the critical 200-day SMA is located. Cable’s deep pullback follows the strong gains in the Greenback, while investors continue to pencil in a potential BoE rate cut in March.

Gold trims gains, slips back to around $5,170

Gold is now facing some downside pressure, hovering around the $5,170 region on Thursday. The yellow metal surrenders part of its earlier gains on the back of the resurgence of the buying interest in the Greenback. In the meantime, geopolitical tensions in the Middle East continue to limit the downside potential for now.