The US Dollar steadied as markets turn their attention to US labor data due out later today. Market players will no doubt be hoping that Wednesday’s ADP figures, which were unexpectedly strong with 235,000 new jobs in October against forecasts of 200,000, will set the stage for a positive NFP read. Currently, analysts are predicting that 312,000 new jobs will have been added last month, well above September’s -33,000. The unemployment rate is expected to be unchanged. On Thursday, the greenback had come under some pressure after the Republican Congressmen released their proposal for an overhaul of the US tax code.
As reported at 11:01 am(JST) in Tokyo, the USD/JPY was trading at 113.936 Yen, down 0.12%; the pair had earlier hit a peak of 114.092 Yen while the low is currently at 113.860 Yen. The AUD/USD is down 0.33% and trading at $0.7688 while the NZD/USD is at $0.6920, a gain of 0.05%.
Powell Nominated as New Fed Head
Also in the US on Thursday, Donald Trump announced the nomination of Jerome Powell as the next Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank. Jerome Powell is currently a Governor of the Federal Reserve, and serves under Janet Yellen who will be leaving in early February when her term expires. Markets were generally pleased with Powell’s appointment, as analysts believe he is likely to continue on with the current monetary policy of gradual rate hikes.