Daily Currency Update
USD - United States DollarUS employment figures released this morning increased the strength of the US dollar against its larger trading partners in Canada, Great Britain and Europe. The dollar climbed higher on positive jobs numbers. Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 4.87 million in June, and the unemployment rate declined to 11.1 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported this morning. Weekly unemployment claims dropped for the thirteenth week in a row.The job creation and unemployment numbers are important leading indicators of consumer spending and provide overall insight into economic activity. Despite these positive indicators, COVID-19 continues to dominate trends. Most currency pairs with the US dollar remain entrenched within recent ranges.
Key Movers
The British pound ticked higher in the past 24 hours, but with little local data to drive it. Comments from Bank of England’s Jonathan Haskel helped the pound advance. He said that retail sales and spending more broadly appear to be recovering from their April lows, and that expected Q2 as a whole will not be quite as negative.Risk sentiment was boosted by a COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech, which was found to be well tolerated in early-stage human trials. The 45 people that participated in the trial, which included placebos, saw a V-shaped recovery. Welcome news for the global economy that continues to tackle the virus and get back on its feet. This improved risk appetite has seen investors and traders sell their safe haven currencies and take a cautionary look at riskier assets. This can be seen in AUD and NZD gains against a basket of safe havens, such as the USD, overnight.
Expected Ranges
- USD/CAD: 1.356 - 1.362 ▲
- GBP/USD: 1.246 - 1.252 ▲
- EUR/USD: 1.122 - 1.13 ▲
- USD/AUD: 1.440 - 1.448 ▲