Well that's all from us today, thanks for following along. Be sure to join us again on Monday when we'll be back for more of the latest markets news and updates of all that's happening across the global economy.

Until then, have a great weekend.

Average hourly earnings for employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 15 cents, or 0.4%, to $36.24 in May,

Economists had forecast a smaller rise of 0.3%.

According to today’s jobs report, over the past year, average hourly earnings have increased by 3.9%, beating forecasts of a 3.7% rise.

April’s annual wage growth data has been revised up too, from 3.8% to 3.9%.

NatWest (NWG.L) has apologised to customers after service issues left people unable to log in to the app.

The bank reported problems including being unable to make purchases or pay staff.

Customers are being urged to use online or telephone banking, or go into a branch, while it works to fix the problem.

A spokeswoman for the bank said:

More than 3,000 outages were reported through services monitoring site Downdetector on Friday morning.

NatWest apologised and confirmed that its web-based online banking service is still working normally.

Harry Mills, director at Oku Markets said:

Meanwhile, Adam Tibbetts, head of advisory trading at Atlantic Capital Markets said:

The US added 139,000 new jobs in May, according to the latest non-farm payroll report, with the US unemployment rate coming in unchanged at 4.2%.

The figue was higher than expected as economists had expected the non-farm payroll to rise by 130,000.

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that “employment continued to trend up in health care, leisure and hospitality, and social assistance. Federal government continued to lose jobs.”

But, the report also showed that 95,000 fewer jobs were created in March and April than previously estimated.

The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for March was revised down by 65,000, from +185,000 to +120,000, and the change for April was revised down by 30,000, from +177,000 to +147,000, the BLS says.

Lululemon stock (LULU) fell as much as 20% in premarket trading on Friday after the company warned profits would take a hit amid what it called a "dynamic macro-environment."

It now expects second quarter adjusted earnings per share to fall in a range of $2.85-$2.90, far lower than Wall Street's estimates for EPS of $3.31. Lululemon also cut its full-year EPS outlook to a range of $14.58-$14.78 from $14.95-$15.15.

"As we navigate the dynamic macro-environment, we intend to leverage our strong financial position and competitive advantages to play offense, while we continue to invest in the growth opportunities in front of us," CEO Calvin McDonald said in the release.

Revenue for the second quarter is expected to grow 7%-8% to a range of $2.535bn-$2.560bn. That's below the Street's expectations of $2.568 billion, according to Bloomberg data.

The company reiterated its revenue outlook for 2025 in a range of $11.15 bn-$11.30bn.

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The price of silver hit a 13-year high this morning at $36.29 per ounce, its highest level since February 2012.

Achilleas Georgolopoulos, senior market analyst at Trading Point, said:

Circle's stock (CRCL) is still gaining on Friday after it exploded higher in its first day of trading, rising as much as 200% in Thursday's session after the stablecoin issuer's long-anticipated public market debut.

Shares rose almost 13% in pre-market trading to $93.50 apiece. At market close on Thursday, they settled at $83.23, up 168% from their IPO price of $31.

Trade in the shares was halted more than once on Thursday due to volatility, as the stock rose rapidly after opening at around $69 apiece. Circle's market capitalization stood north of $16 billion at end of the day's trading.

Circle issues the stablecoin USDC (USDC-USD), which is backed by the dollar. There was $60 billion worth of USDC in circulation at the end of the first quarter.

In the first three months of the year, the company's revenue and reserve income totaled $578.6 million, up 58.5% from a year ago. The company makes most of its revenue from "reserve income," which is what it makes on cash backing USDC that is held in banks or invested in Treasury bills. Circle's adjusted EBITA tallied $122.4 million in the first quarter.

In 2021, the company attempted to go public via SPAC before calling off the plans a year later.

Circle is the second-largest stablecoin issuer in the market behind Tether (USDT-USD), which has closer to $150 billion in circulation.

The eurozone economy grew faster than expected during the first quarter, with gross domestic product (GDP) up 0.6%, new data from Eurostat showed. This was twice as fast as the 0.3% growth previously estimated.

The increase was driven by Ireland, whose economy expanded by 9.7% in the last quarter, due to a surge of exports of products, such as pharmaceuticals, to avoid US tariffs.

• Ireland was followed by Malta (+2.1%) and Cyprus (+1.3%).

• The highest decreases were observed in Luxembourg (-1.0%), Slovenia (-0.8%), Denmark and Portugal (both -0.5%).

• Germany expanded by 0.4%, and France by 0.1%, slower than the UK which expanded by 0.7% in the quarter.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is proposing to lift the ban on offering crypto exchange traded notes (cETNs) to retail investors. Similar products are already available in other countries.

It would mean cETNs could be sold to individual consumers, rather than just professional investors, in the UK, if they’re traded on an FCA-approved investment exchange (a Recognised Investment Exchange or RIE).

Financial promotion rules would apply so consumers get information on the risks and would not be offered inappropriate incentives to invest, in the same way as if they bought cryptoassets directly.

David Geale, executive director of payments and digital assets at the FCA said:

This is the latest development as the FCA continues to establish a regulatory framework for crypto. The regulator has outlined its crypto roadmap and recently published proposals on stablecoins as well as other aspects of the regime.

The FCA’s ban on retail access to cryptoasset derivatives will remain in place. The regulator says it will continue to monitor market developments and consider its approach to high-risk investments.

The announcement comes alongside other proposals outlined today in a quarterly consultation paper from the FCA, to further reduce burdens on firms and support economic growth.

Global food prices fell in May, the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation said.

Its food price index, which tracks a basket of food commodities, declined 1 point last month, to 127.7 points, leaving prices 7.2% higher than a year ago, but almost a third below its peak in March 2022 after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Here's a breakdown of the prices:

• Cereal prices fell 1.8%, thanks to a record maize harvest in the US, and increasing seasonal availability from ongoing harvests in Argentina and Brazil.

• Vegetable oil prices dipped 3.7%, with palm, rapeseed, soy and sunflower oil prices all down.

• Sugar was 2.6% down amid “weaker global demand for sugar, amid concerns over the uncertain global economic outlook and its potential impact on demand from the beverage and food processing industries”.

• Meat prices rose 1.3% boosted by strong global import demand, particularly from China, the Middle East and Europe.

• Dairy prices climbed 0.8%, with international butter prices remaining at “historically high levels”, due to strong demand from Asia and the Middle East amid tightening milk supplies in Australia.

Signs of progress on US tariff agreements in early May offered some reprieve around trade tensions, prompting investors to be more "risk-on", driving stock markets higher.

Following on from US president Donald Trump's pausing of many higher rate tariffs in April, the UK and US announced a trade deal on 8 May.

This marked the Trump administration's first pact since it unveiled sweeping tariffs and included an agreement to lower levies on a certain number of UK car exports, among other points.

Days later, the US and China announced that they had agreed to temporarily slash tariffs on each other's imports by 115% for 90 days, marking a major de-escalation in tensions between the two countries.

However, the break from tensions was short-lived, as on 23 May Trump then threatened to raise tariffs to 50% on imports from the European Union (EU) and to put a 25% levy on Apple (AAPL) products unless iPhones are made in the US.

Following conversations with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, Trump then said a few days later he had decided to hit pause on imposing higher tariffs on the EU until 9 July.

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Exports in Germany sunk 1.7% in April, a bigger fall than expected, according to new data from statistics body Destatis on Friday. Meanwhile, industrial output also weakened, dropping 1.4% month-on-month.

Carsten Brzeski, global head of macro at ING, said:

The pound (GBPUSD=X, GBPEUR=X) pulled back slightly against the dollar on Friday in European trading hours, dipping almost 0.3% to trade around the $1.354 mark.

Sterling's rally has sent it to its highest point against the greenback since 2022, but that's largely due to dollar weakness, analysts say.

“Domestic factors have also been supportive of sterling," said Matthew Ryan, head of market strategy at global financial services firm Ebury.

“This week’s updated UK PMI figures provide reason for optimism, as the composite index was revised sharply higher to 50.3 in May (from the initial 49.4 estimate), i.e. back above the key level of 50 that separates growth from expansion.

“As we’ve been stressing for some time, Britain’s economy should be well positioned to weather the tariff storm, while at the same time inflation is printing well above the Bank of England’s 2% target."

The dollar index (DX-Y.NYB) headed 0.2% higher, meanwhile. The index tracks it against a basket of other currencies.

The pound was almost flat against the euro following a Thursday interest rate cut by the European Central Bank (ECB).

Six water companies will be banned from paying bonuses to senior bosses under new measures.

It comes as the Water (Special Measures) Act takes effect on Friday, prohibiting utility firms that oversee “poor environmental and customer outcomes” from offering bonuses to senior bosses.

The companies impacted are Thames Water, Yorkshire Water, Anglian Water, Wessex Water, United Utilities, Southern Water. The ban, which is backdated to April 2024, gives water regulator Ofwat the power to step in if any of them pay bonuses.

More than £112m in bonuses and incentives have been awarded by UK water firms over the last decade, with £7.6m awarded last year alone despite growing public concern about sewage spills and rising bills

The latest US employment report, expected later this afternoon, is forecast to show a slowdown in hiring across the US in May.

Economists forecast that the US non-farm payroll will have risen by around 130,000 in May, down from the 177,000 increase recorded in April, with the unemployment rate sticking at 4.2%.

Tony Sycamore, market analyst at IG, explains:

Trade war anxiety eased on Friday after Donald Trump and and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping held a call on Thursday. The US president confirmed that he is now set to visit China.

Thursday's call is the first time the two leaders have spoken since Trump launched a trade war with Beijing in February. Chinese state media reported that the call happened at the White House's request.

According to Chinese state news agency Xinhua, Xi reportedly told Trump that the US should "withdraw the negative measures it has taken against China".

The Chinese leader was also said to have told Trump that China always kept its promises and since a consensus had been reached, both sides should abide by it - a reference to a recent deal between the two nations struck in Geneva.

Traders have been weighing up a public feud between Tesla (TSLA) boss Elon Musk and US president Donald Trump.

Shares in the electric car company nosedived 14% last night on the back of the row, as Trump threatened to terminate Musk’s governmental subsidies and contracts.

The Tesla CEO replied that SpaceX would immediately decommission its Dragon spacecraft, and Trump accused the billionaire of going “CRAZY!” over the removal of electric car subsidies.

The decline wiped out roughly $150bn (£110bn) in market value in one of the company's worst days in months.

Thursday's spat gained speed when Trump told reporters in the Oval Office he was "disappointed" in Musk, while Musk argued on X — the social media platform that he owns — Trump wouldn't have won the White House without his support.

"The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon's Governmental Subsidies and Contracts. I was always surprised that Biden didn't do it!" Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone, said:

Northern Ireland once again recorded the fastest pace of annual property price inflation, up by 8.6% over the past year, with the typical home now costing £209,388, though this was still well below the UK average.

In England, North West and Yorkshire and the Humber saw the fastest annual house price growth of 3.7%, with the average property in these areas now costing £240,823 and £213,983 respectively.

London continued to see more subdued growth, with prices up just 1.2% year-on-year, though the capital remained by far the most expensive part of the UK housing market, with the average home costing £542,017.

Average UK house prices dipped 0.4% in May, representing a fall of nearly £1,150, after changes to stamp duty came into effect, according to the latest data from Halifax.

The average UK property is now valued at £296,648, down from £297,781 in April, when house prices rose for the first time this year.

On an annual basis, prices rose to 2.5% — adding just over £7,000 to the value of a typical home — though this was down from 3.2% in April.

Amanda Bryden, head of mortgages at Halifax, said: “These small monthly movements point to a housing market that has remained largely stable, with average prices down by just -0.2% since the start of the year. The market appears to have absorbed the temporary surge in activity over spring, which was driven by the changes to stamp duty."

"Affordability remains a challenge, with house prices still high relative to incomes," she added. "However, lower mortgage rates and steady wage growth have helped support buyer confidence."

"The outlook will depend on the pace of cuts to interest rates, as well as the strength of future income growth and broader inflation trends," Bryden said. "Despite ongoing pressure on household finances and a still uncertain economic backdrop, the housing market has shown resilience – a story we expect to continue in the months ahead."

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