US dollar firms as market braces for payrolls data

NEW YORK: The US dollar gained ground on Thursday as investors awaited key US jobs data for signs of economic recovery, and after both the European Central Bank and the Bank of England left interest rates unchanged.

Sterling weakened sharply after the Bank of England announced it would pump another 50 billion pounds into the economy as the recession is proving deeper and more stubborn than expected.

At 2100 GMT, the euro traded at 1.4347 dollars from 1.4411 dollars in New York late on Wednesday.

Against the Japanese currency, the dollar rose to 95.44 yen from 94.97 yen late Wednesday.

After central bank decisions in line with forecasts, the market looked ahead to Friday's report on US unemployment and non-farm payrolls, one of the best indicators of economic momentum.

"The state of the US labour market is critical to not only the outlook for the US economy but also the global economy," said Kathy Lien at Global Forex Trading.

She said job losses are forecast to be anywhere between 150,000 and 460,000, leaving the market uncertain.