Pound to US, Australian & New Zealand Dollar Exchange Rates Forecast To Dip On US Jobs Data

Modified: Thursday, 3 October 2013 23:20 BST - Written by Toni Johnson

STORY LINK Pound to US, Australian & New Zealand Dollar Exchange Rates Forecast To Dip On US Jobs Data

The Sterling Dollar exchange rate drifted lower on the day yesterday, touching 1.6156 during the latter part of the US equities session. Today’s US employment numbers could cause a renewed downward shift for the GBP AUD and GBP NZD exchange rates.

The Pound US Dollar exchange rate (GBP/USD) is currently trading down by 0.40% at 1.6158 GBP/USD. The US Dollar Pound exchange rate is currently trading at 0.6189 USD/GBP.

Yesterday afternoon’s US labour market numbers slightly bettered expectations and the Pound Dollar exchange rate edged lower as a result. Although the US Initial Jobless Change number is released on a weekly basis, it has proven potential to move the markets. Yesterday’s figure showed that the previous week had seen 308,000 new unemployment benefit claimants versus expectations of 315,000.

The American jobs data took on added significance because today brings the release of September’s Non Farm Payrolls number. If this key job creation figure suggests that the US economic climate is improving, then look for the Greenback to strengthen once more as investors price-in a higher percentage chance that the Federal Reserve will trim its $85bn per month Quantitative Easing programme before Christmas. Such an outcome could send the Pound US Dollar rate down towards the psychologically significant 1.6000 level once more.

The Dollar came in for additional safe haven support during late trading in North America as news broke that gunshots had been fired near Washington’s Capitol Hill – the very epicentre of the US government.

Elsewhere, the near-term fortunes of several other major global currency pairs also hinge on this afternoon’s American employment figures. A strong showing will send the Pound Australian Dollar exchange rate down towards the 1.7000 level, while any improvement in risk appetite which follows this afternoon’s key release is likely to propel the Pound New Zealand Dollar exchange rate down into the lower part of the 1.9000-2.0000 trading range.

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