British Pound surges against US Dollar ahead of US NFP data
- The British Pound jumps to near 1.3340 against the US Dollar ahead of the US NFP data for June.
- Fed’s Warsh stresses to bring price stability, warning that inflation is too high.
- UK’s leadership change is unlikely to increase strain on fiscal policy.
The British Pound (GBP) trades 0.5% higher to near 1.3340 against the US Dollar (USD) during the European trading session on Thursday. The GBP/USD pair reflects strength as the US Dollar underperforms its peers ahead of the United States (US) Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) data for June, which will be published at 12:30 GMT.
US Dollar Price Today
The table below shows the percentage change of US Dollar (USD) against listed major currencies today. US Dollar was the weakest against the Japanese Yen.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | -0.25% | -0.39% | -0.69% | -0.09% | -0.08% | -0.16% | -0.44% | |
| EUR | 0.25% | -0.15% | -0.46% | 0.14% | 0.16% | 0.10% | -0.19% | |
| GBP | 0.39% | 0.15% | -0.30% | 0.26% | 0.33% | 0.25% | -0.04% | |
| JPY | 0.69% | 0.46% | 0.30% | 0.59% | 0.62% | 0.51% | 0.26% | |
| CAD | 0.09% | -0.14% | -0.26% | -0.59% | 0.02% | -0.05% | -0.34% | |
| AUD | 0.08% | -0.16% | -0.33% | -0.62% | -0.02% | -0.06% | -0.36% | |
| NZD | 0.16% | -0.10% | -0.25% | -0.51% | 0.05% | 0.06% | -0.29% | |
| CHF | 0.44% | 0.19% | 0.04% | -0.26% | 0.34% | 0.36% | 0.29% |
The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the US Dollar from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the Japanese Yen, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent USD (base)/JPY (quote).
At press time, the US Dollar Index (DXY), which gauges the Greenback’s value against six major currencies, trades 0.4% lower to near 101.00.
Market participants will keenly track the US NFP data as it will influence market expectations for the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) monetary policy outlook.
The NFP report will likely show that employers hired 110K fresh workers, lower than 172K in May. The Unemployment Rate is expected to remain steady at 4.3%.
The impact of the US data on the Fed’s interest rate expectations has increased since the return of Kevin Warsh to the central bank as Chairman, following his remarks in the press conference of the June meeting that “forward-looking comments are not well suited in the current policy juncture”.
Fed Chair Warsh again did not deliver any remarks regarding the monetary policy outlook in his speech at the European Central Bank (ECB) Forum in Sintra on Wednesday, but warned that inflation remains “too high”, while stressing the need to bring price stability.
Meanwhile, the British Pound has broadly outperformed its peers this week amid hopes that the United Kingdom (UK) fiscal principles will continue despite the leadership change.
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, the frontrunner of UK’s leadership position after Prime Minister (PM) Keir Starmer’s resignation, has stated that he remains committed to the Labour Party’s 2024 manifesto.
Nonfarm Payrolls FAQs
Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) are part of the US Bureau of Labor Statistics monthly jobs report. The Nonfarm Payrolls component specifically measures the change in the number of people employed in the US during the previous month, excluding the farming industry.
The Nonfarm Payrolls figure can influence the decisions of the Federal Reserve by providing a measure of how successfully the Fed is meeting its mandate of fostering full employment and 2% inflation. A relatively high NFP figure means more people are in employment, earning more money and therefore probably spending more. A relatively low Nonfarm Payrolls’ result, on the either hand, could mean people are struggling to find work. The Fed will typically raise interest rates to combat high inflation triggered by low unemployment, and lower them to stimulate a stagnant labor market.
Nonfarm Payrolls generally have a positive correlation with the US Dollar. This means when payrolls’ figures come out higher-than-expected the USD tends to rally and vice versa when they are lower. NFPs influence the US Dollar by virtue of their impact on inflation, monetary policy expectations and interest rates. A higher NFP usually means the Federal Reserve will be more tight in its monetary policy, supporting the USD.
Nonfarm Payrolls are generally negatively-correlated with the price of Gold. This means a higher-than-expected payrolls’ figure will have a depressing effect on the Gold price and vice versa. Higher NFP generally has a positive effect on the value of the USD, and like most major commodities Gold is priced in US Dollars. If the USD gains in value, therefore, it requires less Dollars to buy an ounce of Gold. Also, higher interest rates (typically helped higher NFPs) also lessen the attractiveness of Gold as an investment compared to staying in cash, where the money will at least earn interest.
Nonfarm Payrolls is only one component within a bigger jobs report and it can be overshadowed by the other components. At times, when NFP come out higher-than-forecast, but the Average Weekly Earnings is lower than expected, the market has ignored the potentially inflationary effect of the headline result and interpreted the fall in earnings as deflationary. The Participation Rate and the Average Weekly Hours components can also influence the market reaction, but only in seldom events like the “Great Resignation” or the Global Financial Crisis.
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