The British pound strengthened against the other major currencies in the early European session on Monday, as weaker-than-expected U.S. jobs data for the month of March raised hopes for delay in interest rate hikes in the U.S.

Data from the U.S. Labor Department showed Friday that the non-farm payroll employment rose by 126,000 jobs in March following a downwardly revised increase of 264,000 jobs in February. Economists had expected employment to increase by about 245,000 jobs compared to the addition of 295,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.

Market also focus on the Bank of England’s latest interest rate decision on Thursday. Economists anticipate the key interest rate to remain unchanged at 0.50 percent and bond-purchase target at ?375 billion.

Friday, the pound fell 0.14 percent against the euro and 0.18 percent against the Swiss franc, as traders remain uncertain about the U.K. General Election, due on May 7.

In the early European session today, the pound rose to 1.4942 against the U.S. dollar and 177.84 against the yen, from early lows of 1.4897 and 177.19, respectively. If the pound extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around 1.52 against the greenback and 181.30 against the yen.

Against the Swiss franc and the euro, the pound edged up to 1.4227 and 0.7347 from early lows of 1.4184 and 0.7377, respectively. The pound may test resistance near 1.52 against the franc and 0.71 against the euro.

Looking ahead, the final Markit U.S. services PMI, ISM’s U.S. non-manufacturing index, U.S. labour market conditions index and Canada Ivey PMI – all for March, are set to be published in the New York session.

At 8:00 am ET, U.S. Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William Dudley will deliver a speech about the economic outlook at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center.

The material has been provided by InstaForex Company – www.instaforex.com