Holding on ahead of tomorrow's jobs numbers

• GBP: Johnson adds little
• EUR: Russia helps prices lower
• USD: Debt ceiling talks continue

Sterling

Euro

A Russian pledge to help lower gas prices via increased supply may not be worth the paper it’s written on but it’s helping the euro in the short term. As we have noted above, whilst inflation may be rising it makes little sense for the ECB to change tack on interest rates yet and we believe that the single currency remains in a downtrend as a result.

A precedent has been set for intervention against energy price rises; Poland yesterday hiked interest rates in a bid to protect the economy against the increased cost of fuel.

USD

The Thursday before a payrolls number can be a quiet affair and while we have energy price issues, Covid-19, debt ceiling negotiations and corporate profit warnings all hitting headlines this morning, it makes sense that things are starting to consolidate ahead of tomorrow’s unemployment report from the US.

While not explicitly a pre-cursor to the number, yesterday’s ADP release was also strong and has certainly upped expectations that the US jobs market remains a lot stronger than its counterparts elsewhere.

A strong number tomorrow is almost certain to boost the USD.

News that some Senate Republicans are happy to extend the US debt ceiling temporarily may hurt the USD a little today although should that news cause US yields to rise, then USD buying could continue. 

Elsewhere 

A slight move in US political circles to moving an immediate showdown on the debt ceiling has helped risk currencies around the world, with commodity currencies outperforming notably. While gas and oil prices are a little lower than they were at the beginning of the week, they are still elevated and are generating some support for local currencies. AUD, NZD, NOK, RUB and IDR are all higher this morning.

Market rates

Today's Interbank Rates at 08:51 against sterling. Movement vs yesterday.

Have a great day.