President Trump nominated Jerome Powell to succeed Janet Yellen as the new Fed Governor to chair the US Federal Reserve, which came as no surprise to market participants.
The US dollar held steady as forex traders shifted their attention towards today’s jobs report. Trump’s nomination of Powell to lead the Fed signalled a continuation to Janet Yellen’s path of cautious monetary policy.
Non-farm payrolls data is expected to show a jump of 313’000 new jobs added to the economy but the increase in average hourly earnings is expected to slow to 0.2 percent from 0.5 percent the previous month.
EUR/USD was steady around 1.1645 after it had risen to 1.1687 on Thursday. The greenback came under a bout of intraday pressure after Republican congressional leaders released proposals to slash the corporate tax rate to 20 percent from 35. USD/JPY eased to 113.89 overnight, down from last week’s 3-1/2 month peak of 114.45.
Cable slipped almost 1.5 percent yesterday after the Bank of England voted 7-2 to raise its benchmark interest rate to 0.5 percent from 0.25. GBP/USD trades at 1.3044 on Friday.
