White House and Republicans hint at new talks on fiscal cliff; US jobs report takes centre stage today, however it may not have its usual impact on the markets

James Hughes, Chief Market Analyst at Alpari, one of the world’s leading forex brokers, said: “We have seen positive comments coming out of the US with the White House and Republicans suggesting that talks have resumed to try and find an acceptable resolution to the fiscal cliff for both parties. This suggests that both are finally willing to negotiate after Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner made it perfectly clear that there would be no deal without the top 2% seeing their taxes raised. If comments from Obama this week are true, that a deal could be done within a week once the tax hike is agreed, we could now see a deal well before the end of the year, although I remain pessimistic.

Looking ahead to today and there is plenty of economic data for traders to get their teeth into. However, it is the first Friday of the month which means the US jobs report will steal the show. Usually, other economic data is largely overlooked when the jobs report is due. Today may be a rare occasion though when even the jobs report is overlooked. Regardless of how strong or weak the non-farm payroll and unemployment figures are, the fiscal cliff negotiations are the sole event that's going to determine the strength of the US economy over the next couple of years.”

Note: The content of this text comprises personal opinions and ideas and should not be taken or misunderstood as investment advice.