US dollar buoyed by solid jobs figures

The US dollar struck higher on Friday, with the currency being bolstered by an upbeat jobs report and risk-off flows.

Meanwhile, the pound is trading without any strong directional bias this morning, with GBP/EUR climbing to €1.1901 and GBP/USD buoyed at $1.3133. GBP/CAD is rangebound at C$1.6399, while GBP/AUD and GBP/NZD hold steady at AU$1.7272 and NZ$1.8932, respectively.

Coming up, will some dovish comments by Bank of England (GBP) Governor Andrew Bailey push Sterling lower today?

What’s been happening?

The US dollar trended higher on Friday as USD investors welcomed the latest US jobs figures.

While payrolls came in below expectations last month, the US unemployment rate fell to 3.6%, a new post-pandemic low.

Alongside a stronger-than-expected uptick in wages as well as a prevailing risk-off mood, this helped to US dollar close last week’s session on a positive note

At the same time, a hotter-than-expected Eurozone consumer price index failed to provide much upside momentum to the euro at the end of last week, despite reporting inflation in the bloc rocketed to a new record high of 7.5% in March.

The pound, meanwhile, struggled to attract support on what was dubbed ‘Bleak Friday’, with the UK’s cost-of-living crisis thrust back into the spotlight on the day in which price increases for energy and other household bills came into effect.

What’s coming up?

Looking ahead to the start of this week, GBP investors will look to a speech by Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey for fresh impetus.

This could see the pound get off to a poor start if Bailey continues to cast doubts on the chances of the BoE hiking interest rates again in May, or if he raises concerns over the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on the UK economy.

For USD investors the spotlight will be on the US factory orders scheduled for release this afternoon. Will an expected contraction in order growth drag on the US dollar?

In the meantime, Germany published its latest trade figures earlier this morning. While these reported a rebound in the country’s trade surplus in February, any upside in the euro looks limited as the Ukraine crisis continues to loom over the currency market.