During the European morning, the USD-index retraced some of yesterdays’ US Empire & Industrial Production inspired losses which weighed on the EUR, with EUR/GBP breaking back below the low printed yesterday at 0.7167. GBP/USD traded steady with attention turning to tonight’s UK Election debate which will be close watched as the market looks to observe any impact on the latest election polls.
However, heading into the North American crossover USD pared its entire earlier gains, with this week's disappointing data releases leading some participants to take June off the table for Fed rate lift-off. Misery continued for the greenback as further tier-1 releases out of the US echoed downbeat data from earlier this week, with US Housing Starts (926K vs. Exp. 1040K ) and Building Permits (1039K vs. Exp. 1081K) both missing estimates and US Initial Jobless Claims (294K vs. Exp. 280K) showing a larger than expected rise. The weakness in the USD offset losses in the EUR from heightened concerns over Greece, with yesterday’s downgrade from S&P being followed by comments from German Finance Minister Schaeuble, who downplayed expectations for a breakthrough in Greek/Eurogroup negotiations by saying ‘nobody expects that there will be a solution.
Looking ahead, key data releases tomorrow include UK jobs report, Eurozone, US, and Canadian CPI, as well as Canadian Retail Sales, US University of Michigan Sentiment and Leading Index. Finally, ECB’s Weidman will be holding a press briefing alongside German Finance Minister Schaeuble, which could reveal more on the ongoing situation in Greece.
Recommended Content
Editors’ Picks
AUD/USD holds above 0.6500 in thin trading
The Australian Dollar managed to recover ground against its American rival after AUD/USD fell to 0.6484. The upbeat tone of Wall Street underpinned the Aussie despite broad US Dollar strength and tepid Australian data.
EUR/USD comfortable below 1.0800 lower lows at sight
The EUR/USD pair lost ground on Thursday and settled near a fresh March low of 1.0774. Strong US data and hawkish Fed speakers comments lead the way ahead of the release of the US PCE Price Index on Friday.
Gold pulls away from daily highs, holds above $2,200
Gold retreats from daily highs but holds comfortably above $2,200 in the American session on Thursday. The benchmark 10-year US Treasury bond yield stays near 4.2% after upbeat US data and makes it difficult for XAU/USD to gather further bullish momentum.
Google starts indexing Bitcoin addresses
Bitcoin address data is live on Google search results after users realized on Thursday that the tech giant started indexing Bitcoin blockchain data. However, mixed reactions have followed the tech giant's reversed stance on the cryptocurrency.
A Hollywood ending for fourth quarter GDP
The latest revisions put Q4 GDP at 3.4%, the second fastest quarterly growth rate in two years. Much of the upside was attributable to stronger consumer spending, yet fresh profits data affirmed it was a good quarter for the bottom line as well with profits up by the most since the Q2-2022.