Investors in a derivatives auction on Thursday bet U.S. nonfarm payrolls fell by a seasonally adjusted 132,000 in September as two major hurricanes depressed economic activity.

The implied market forecast of the auction conducted late on Thursday showed that hedgers and speculators were slightly more optimistic than Wall Street economists regarding how badly the labor market was hit by Hurricane Katrina in late August and Hurricane Rita in late September. A Reuters poll of 38 economists conducted on Oct. 6 yielded a median forecast of a 143,000 decline in payrolls in September. Nonfarm payrolls grew by a seasonally adjusted 169,000 in August, which is subject to revision.

Posted: 10|7|05 at 9:02 am. Filed under: US News.