Dollar regains strength ahead of US jobs data

The dollar regained strength against major currencies as investors refocused attention back on this afternoon's key US jobs data…

The dollar regained strength against major currencies as investors refocused attention back on this afternoon's key US jobs data after wobbling yesterday.

As London was hit by four bomb attacks on public transport yesterday, financial markets saw a flight to quality, with the Swiss franc and the euro gaining at the expense of the dollar as well as the pound.

At 10.55am the dollar was at 1.1906 against the euro, while sterling was running at £0.6856 against the single currency. The pound continued to drop sharply against the dollar, falling below the $1.74 mark for the first time since December 2003.

Today, focus is likely to return to this afternoon's US non-farm payrolls report for June, which is expected to show that US employment numbers remain strong and to provide the dollar with further support later in the day.

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Most analysts are expecting employment to grow by around 200,000, which would confirm that US interest rates are set to continue rising.

The pound fell sharply yesterday in the wake of the terrorist attacks, which only served to strengthen expectations that the Bank of England will cut interest rates next month.