With August being notorious for disappointing markets with regards to the non-farm payroll figure, market participants are extremely keen to know what number will be enough for the Federal Reserve to raise rates at its FOMC meeting later in the month.
Fed Vice Chair Stanley Fischer said last week that the jobs data for August will be a consideration for when the Fed raises rates, putting today's data under extreme scrutiny. Employers are expected to have added 180,000 jobs in August.
Yesterday, the US dollar slipped against its major rivals after a dismal manufacturing activity reading which fell to 49.4 versus expectations for 52.6, casting fresh concerns over the strength of the American economy.
The sour data overturned earlier dollar strength as forex investors wait the highly anticipated jobs numbers today for new clues on when the Federal Reserve will next raise interest rates. EUR/USD rose above 1.12 from 1.1127 on Thursday while USD/JPY to 103.05 from 103.99.
Goldman Sachs reported that since 2011, August payroll growth has fallen short of Bloomberg consensus expectations by an average of 49k, only to be revised up by an average of 71k in subsequent releases.
Sterling soared above 1.1 percent against the dollar and hit a one-month high against the euro on Thursday after data showing the British manufacturing activity staged one of its sharpest rebounds on record in August. GBP/USD rose to 1.3316 and EUR/GBP slipped to 0.8385.
