Economic & Market Watch

In the News

Economy

• The U.S. economy added 57,000 jobs in June, following a downwardly revised gain of 129,000 the previous month. The unemployment rate ticked down to 4.2% from 4.3% as the labor force contracted by 720,000 to 169.36 million workers, with the participation rate falling to 61.5%, its lowest posting since March 2021.
• U.S. Treasury yields were relatively unchanged Monday morning as investors await the latest Federal Open Market Committee minutes, due later in the week. As of now, the Federal Reserve is widely expected to remain cautious on inflation, leaving little room for a rate cut in near terms.

Markets

• West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures traded around $68.70/barrel, dropping after OPEC+ approved another production increase for August and as the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz improved expectations for global oil supplies.
• U.S. stock futures moved higher to start the week as investors looked ahead to the start of the second-quarter earnings season and the release of the Fed’s meeting minutes, with technology shares leading premarket gains.

Current Events

• According to a survey by LevelTen Energy, a marketplace for clean energy transactions, U.S. solar and wind developers expect the cost of renewable energy power purchase agreements to increase by 40% to 120% following the expiration of Inflation Reduction Act incentives.
• Microsoft announced plans to lay off 3,200 employees from its Xbox video game division as it restructures the struggling business.

Meet the Team

CFC's economic research team—John Suter, Sam Kem and Antony Davies—share their expert, yet easily digestible, perspective on what you need to know.

Have feedback about the podcast? A topic you'd like the EMW team to cover? Get in touch at economicresearch@nrucfc.coop.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Trading Economics