020 7898 0500The US dollar’s fortunes were mixed yesterday, affected by both local and international events. Morning activity was positive for the currency, as it reached its strongest level in two years against a weakening euro, even pushing below 1.26 at one stage, while also gaining against sterling. However, fortunes were reversed somewhat later in the afternoon, as both the Chicago Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) and consumer sentiment data failed to reach their anticipated levels with the data dampening hopes for an interest rate rise somewhat.
Today, the main release will come from the labour market, as the independent variant of the non-farm employment change is released. This is a useful precursor to Friday’s official and more influential figure, as investors try to gauge the US state of employment. Following this, support could be found from the Manufacturing PMI from the Institute of Supply Management. All data is sure to be scrutinised going forward, as the US Federal Reserve has said that the results will be key in deciding when interest rates will rise. Evidence for or against this should cause US dollar movement.
