The Aussie Dollar earlier hit a 2-month peak as risk appetite continued to be strong in the FX markets. That gave the Japanese Yen a breather, as well, allowing the US Dollar and the common currency Euro to recover some recent declines. Today, markets are awaiting that latest US data to help gauge the likely next move of the Federal Reserve Bank. Investors are hopeful that the non-manufacturing ISM report is as good as Tuesday’s release of the manufacturing surveys which showed an acceleration in production and new orders remaining at higher levels.
As reported at 10:53 am (GMT) in London, the AUD/USD was trading at $0.7329, a gain of 0.69% and just a pip off the session’s peak. The NZD/USD is also higher at $0.6998, a gain of 0.47%; the pair has ranged from a low of $0.6658 to a peak of $0.6700. The EUR/USD is also trading up at $1.0877, a gain of 0.10%.
US Data Eyed
Though today’s ISM report is clearly important to markets, the week’s main event will be tomorrow’s release of US labor data. That, above all else, will be the Fed’s consideration for timing of the next rate hike. A fully employed labor market, along with price stability, is the Fed’s mandate. Currently, analysts’ consensus is calling for new private sector jobs for February to have risen to 190,000. Despite the Fed’s promise of numerous rate hikes this year, any disappointment in the NFP report would weigh on the greenback as it could push back the timing for the next interest rate increase.
