The Pound Sterling was mixed in European trading, holding its own versus the US Dollar but sliding versus the Euro as the markets’ focus turns to Mario Draghi, head of the European Central Bank. Later today, Mario Draghi will be testifying before the E.U. Parliament and his comments could hold clues as to the ECB’s plans for the Euro, especially if he hints that the central bank will hold off on further easing. Also helping the common currency was the outcome of France’s presidential primary, with Francois Fillon winning for the French right.
As reported at 10:30 am (GMT) in London, the GBP/USD was trading at $1.2427, down 0.48%; the pair has ranged from a session trough of $1.2415 to a peak of $1.2531. The EUR/GBP was up by 0.86% to trade at 0.8560 Pence; the pair’s daily range was from a low of 0.8489 Pence to a peak of 0.8563 Pence.
High Risk Events Draw Focus
Though this week’s high risk events include another speech by Draghi and then the latest data on inflation for the Eurozone, the main event is Friday’s release of US labor data. One aspect of the Federal Reserve’s mandate requires “full employment;” a move toward that will help solidify the likelihood of an interest rate hike in the imminent future. Currently, analysts polled are calling for an increase in the new non-farm hires in November to 174,000 from October’s 161,000, with the unemployment rate remaining at 4.9%