- Pakistan sees new covid cases decline sharply
- Mini smart lockdowns could help economic recovery
- US Dollar (USD) remains strong ahead of a slew of data focusing on US labour market
- Initial jobless claims could fall below 1 million fort he second time since the start of the pandemic
The US Dollar Pakistan (USD/PKR) exchange rate is pushing northwards on Thursday after settling marginally lower in the previous session. The pair settled -0.05% at 164.94 on Wednesday. At 10:00 UTC, USD/PKR trades +0.6% 165.95. This is at the top end of the daily traded range.
Pakistan appears to have dodged the worst of the coronavirus outbreak. The country which has 230 million inhabitants, over-crowded cities and an underfunded healthcare system has seen surprisingly few deaths from covid-19 and is now seeing the new daily rate of infections drop sharply. This is quite a contrast to India which is seeing new cases hurtle towards 80,000.
Pakistan recorded just 400 new cases over the past 24 hours, taking the total to 297,000. The death toll sits at 6328. Given the improving statistics, the government has adopted a mini smart lockdowns strategy, where just those households or shops where infections were reported will be sealed off. This targeted approach should help the economy towards recovery.
The US Dollar is advancing versus its major peers on Thursday as investors await a slew of data, including ISM non-manufacturing PMI, jobless claims figures and challenger job cuts data. The focus will be firmly on the US labour market ahead of the release of tomorrow’s non-farm payroll.
The data comes after ADP private payrolls revealed that 428,000 jobs were created in the private sector last month. This was significantly less than the 950,000 hires in the private sector that analysts forecast. The US Dollar shrugged off the weak numbers, even though the ADP report is considered a good lead indicator for the non-farm payroll.
Initial jobless claims will also be in focus. Expectations are for another 950,000 Americans to have signed up for unemployment benefits last week as the number of Americans out of work remains worryingly high. This would only be the second time that claims will have slipped below 1 million during the coronavirus pandemic.
