The British pound on Friday took the limelight away from the employment report, with sterling up for a second day after the country's central bank cut its key interest rate to 1%. The pound rose as high as $1.4766, and in late Europe morning trade was up 0.2% to $1.4647. On Thursday, the Bank of England cut its key rate to a new record low of 1%, from 1.5% last month. But data also came out from the lender Halifax, showing the first monthly house price rise in 11 months. "Markets will not be confident that rates have reached their lowest point, but there will be speculation over a period of stability," said analysts at Sucden Financial. The British pound also has been a beneficiary from growing global risk appetite. As one of the countries seen suffering the most from the credit crunch, the pound tends to rise when fears over the global economy abate. All eyes at 8:30 a.m. Eastern will be turned to the Labor Department, which will report on its non-farm payroll estimate for January. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch are forecasting a seasonally adjusted loss of 525,000 jobs, nearly identical to the 524,000 lost in December and the fifth straight month of losses of more than 400,000. Washington also will be in the spotlight on a possible Senate vote on the stimulus package, and on speculation about the Obama administration's bank rescue plan due to be announced Monday. The euro rose 0.1% to $1.2799 and the dollar was up 0.1% to 91.19 yen.

Source