Friday, 7 Aug 2009

Non-Farm Payroll Data Keeps a Lid on Riskier Assets

The Pound continues its decline today after the release of a worse than expected PPI Input data. The GBP began its decline yesterday after the Bank of England (BOE) decided to raise its quantitative easing program by £50 billion, against economists' expectations. From a 2009 high Monday of $1.7041, the Pound is currently trading at $1.6737.

The Yen rose against the Dollar and the Euro after stocks declined and Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc posted a loss, boosting demand for the safety of the Japanese currency. Investors pared riskier bets in higher-yielding currencies following a decline in global stock markets.

There is also caution ahead of the closely watched U.S. release of the July Non-Farm Payrolls Report and Unemployment Rate today at 12:30 GMT. The Non-Farm Payroll numbers are seen as a key gauge to the state of the U.S economy; the data is expected to show an increase to 9.6%, a 26 year high.