British Pound Rose 0.3% Against the U.S. Dollar

The British pound strengthened its position against the greenback. It was up 0.3% to $1.3931 by 3:06 p.m. ET following the Bank of England’s decision. The central bank decided not to change the size of its bond-buying program. The country’s central bank made the decision to keep its benchmark interest rate at a historic low of 0.1%. The Bank of England stated that it would start reducing its shock of bonds when its policy rate reaches 0.5%, by not reinvesting proceeds. Furthermore, the central bank would consider actively selling down holdings when the rate reaches at least 1%.

The greenback took a breather on Thursday, a day after being given a boost from hawkish comments by Richard Clarida, as the market awaited new direction from Friday’s U.S. jobs report. On August 4, Fed Vice Chair Richard Clarida made a very important comment. The central bank’s high-ranking official stated that conditions for an interest rate hike could be met in late 2022, setting the stage for a move in early 2023.

The dollar, which gained 0.2% one day earlier, was traded in a relatively tight range through the day. Various factors such as the government reports on jobless claims failed to affect the greenback. The greenback also shrugged off another up-day in U.S. stocks as well as movement in the U.S. Treasury market.

Dollar and the U.S. jobs report

It is very hard to discuss the U.S. jobs report. But one thing is clear that the latest jobs report is very important to policymakers. Economists warned that the spread of the highly contagious Delta coronavirus variant and mixed readings from labor market indicators make estimates for July troublesome.

Against the Japanese yen, the U.S. dollar rose 0.25% to 109.75. The single currency was flat at $1.1835.

The world’s second-largest cryptocurrency Ether was up 3% to $2,810 and Bitcoin rose 3% to $40,987.