The Pound was little moved from a four-year high against the US Dollar on Thursday after data showed that fewer Americans claimed unemployment benefit last week and US consumer prices rose to match economist forecasts.
The ‘Greenback’ found some support after the Washington based Department of Labour released a report which showed that fewer people filed for unemployment assistance. The figure fell by 3,000 to 336,000. The figure was just below economist expectations for a fall of 4,000.
A reduction in the number of layoffs is thought to cause an increase in hiring over the next few months and more jobs could lead to more consumer spending.
“Firing is still at very low levels. As we continue to see economic growth gain momentum later this year, job gains will also have momentum,” said Sean Incremona, senior economist at 4cast Inc.
The Labour Department also released a separate report which showed that consumer prices in the world’s largest economy by 1.6% on a year-by-year basis last month, broadly in line with forecasts. Consumer prices inched higher by 0.1%, a figure also expected.
The Pound found support from a report which showed that UK factory orders made a modest rebound in February. According to the Confederation of British Industry its monthly industrial trends order book rose to +3 this month, a jump from the -2 recorded in January. The figure was well above the average level of -17 but just shy of forecasters expectations for a figure of +5.
Friday sees the release of the latest US home sales data for January which is expected to show a slight slow down as the housing market was expected to have been impacted by the extreme winter weather which has affected large swathes of the United States.
The Pound could soften if retail sales data comes in weaker than forecast. Expectations are high that sales fell last month as consumers reigned in their spending following Christmas.
US Dollar (USD) Exchange Rates
[table width=”100%” colwidth=”50|50|50|50|50″ colalign=”left|left|left|left|left”]
Currency, ,Currency,Rate ,
US Dollar,
,Pound Sterling,0.5993 ,
US Dollar,,Euro,0.7292 ,
US Dollar,,Australian Dollar,1.1143 ,
US Dollar,,Canadian Dollar,1.1087 ,
Pound Sterling,,US Dollar,1.6692 ,
[/table]
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