The U.S. dollar strengthened as the Federal Reserve left the interest rates unchanged at its meeting yesterday, as expected. The central bank upgraded its U.S. economic growth to solid; underlining the fact that further rate hikes are imminent.
Earlier in the day, economic data showed that the private payrolls added 219k jobs during the month, beating estimates of 186k. The ISM’s manufacturing PMI disappointed, however rising to 58.1 on the index which was below forecasts.
In the UK, the manufacturing PMI was seen at 54.0, slightly below estimates of 54.2.
Looking ahead, the economic data today will cover the UK’s construction PMI. The index is expected to ease to 52.8 from 53.1 last month.
The Bank of England’s monetary policy meeting is scheduled later in the day. Interest rates are expected to rise 25 basis points to 0.75% at today’s meeting.
