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GBP/USD trades in positive territory at around 1.3650 in the European session on Friday as the upbeat PMI data supports Pound Sterling despite disappointing Retail Sales figures. Meanwhile, the US Dollar (USD) struggles to stay resilient against its peers following the Treasury Department's decision to boost long-term bond purchases earlier in the week, helping the pair hold its ground ahead of US PMI data.
EUR/USD gains traction in the European session on Friday and trades above 1.1700 despite the mixed PMI prints from Germany and the Eurozone. Investors await preliminary August PMI surveys for the US, while the persistent USD weakness allows the pair to keep cling to its bullish stance.
Gold sticks to modest gains near its highest level since early June, touched earlier this Friday, and trades just above $4,550 heading into the European session. The commodity is looking to build on the breakout momentum above a technically significant 200-day Simple Moving Average amid a weaker US Dollar. Traders scaled back their bets on an immediate interest rate hike by the Fed after the latest US inflation data released last week signaled signs of cooling price pressures.
The cryptocurrency market remains bullish on Friday, led by Bitcoin’s surge above $77,000. Altcoins, including Ethereum and Ripple, mirror BTC’s positive outlook, trading near $2,400 and $1.35, respectively.
The US Treasury moved off its own calendar on Wednesday, and that is the part worth sitting with. At 12:32 GMT, the department said it would at least double the size of liquidity support buyback operations in the 10-year to 20-year and 20-year to 30-year sectors, lifting the maximum from $2 billion per operation to at least $4 billion, effective September 9 and running to November 4.
