The US Dollar has made some ground against the Pound and extended its gains against the Euro and other currencies after Thursdays US jobless claims data showed that the number of Americans claiming job seeker benefits fell sharply last week.
The Pound was little moved and stayed close to a seven-month high after it found support from Bank of England Governor, Mark Carney’s testimonial to the UK Treasury Select Committee. He said that U.K. economy is picking up as a result of the bank’s stimulus programme.
According to the Washington based Labour Department, the number of claims for unemployment benefits fell by 31,000 to a seasonally adjusted total of 292,000. The figure is the lowest since 2006 and countered economist expectations for a mild increase.
“Stronger job growth may be on the horizon,” said the director of U.S. rates research at TD Securities in New York City “When we start seeing improvement in the labour market, I think that will provide another tailwind for confidence, and spending, going forward.”
The figure may sound good but according to a department analyst most of the declining figure can be attributed to the fact that two of the surveyed states were upgrading their computer systems over the Labour Day weekend. As a result their computer systems did not process all of the claims they received.
The less volatile four-week moving average for jobless claims however did fall to 321,250 last week, the lowest level recorded since October 2007. The confused data is likely to confuse investors who were looking for today’s data to help clarify as to whether the Federal Reserve will choose to taper its quantitative easing programme next week.
Current US Dollar (USD) Exchange Rates
The US Dollar/Pound Sterling Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.6326
The US Dollar/Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.7518
The US Dollar/Australian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.0825
The US Dollar/Japanese Yen Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 99.4249
The US Dollar/Canadian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.0312
(Correct as of 15:00 pm GMT)
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