GBP Edges Higher on Strong NFP Data, Ahead of US CPI and Healey Speech

The British Pound (GBP) rose marginally to around 1.3525 against the US Dollar (USD) during the European trading session on Monday, as the Greenback struggled to attract bids.

The strong Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) figures for August published by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) had a positive impact on the economy, with 162K fresh jobs created, beating estimates of 56K. July's NFP data was also revised higher to 21K from -23K.

Investors are now looking ahead to the US Consumer Price Index (CPI) data for August, which will be published on Friday. Meanwhile, UK Chancellor John Healey is expected to deliver a speech during the day, where he is likely to discuss raising taxes and reducing expenditure as part of his plan to build a solid fiscal 'buffer against uncertainty'.

The Federal Reserve's (Fed) interest rate expectations have also increased following the strong NFP data. Analysts at Commerzbank noted that the Fed funds futures have increased the probability of a 25bp hike on September 16 to 62% compared with 51% before the employment report.