Dollar Holds Amid Uncertainty
The US Dollar (USD) finds stability early Friday after three consecutive days of losses. Later in the day, market participants will closely monitor Consumer Price Index (CPI) data from Germany and the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index from the United States — the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation.
📊 US Dollar Performance This Week The table below shows the weekly percentage change of the US Dollar against major currencies. The Dollar was weakest against the Australian Dollar.
The USD Index continued to decline on Thursday amid a risk-positive market mood. However, upbeat macroeconomic data from the United States helped limit the losses. The Bureau of Economic Analysis revised second-quarter annualized GDP growth to 3.3% from the initial estimate of 3.1%. Additionally, weekly Initial Jobless Claims fell to 229,000 from 234,000 the previous week. Early Friday, the USD Index holds modest daily gains near 98.00, while US stock index futures are down between 0.1% and 0.2%. Core PCE inflation is expected to edge up to 2.9% in July from 2.8% in June.
📉 European and Asian Data Germany’s Retail Sales fell by 1.5% month-over-month in July, following a 1% increase in June and missing expectations for a 0.4% decline. Annual CPI inflation in Germany is projected to rise to 2.1% in July. After gaining about 0.4% on Thursday, EUR/USD trades in a narrow range slightly above 1.1650 in the European morning.
📉 Currency Pair Movements USD/CAD dropped to a three-week low near 1.3740 on Thursday and struggles to recover early Friday, hovering just above 1.3750. Statistics Canada is set to release second-quarter GDP data later today.
Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato stated Friday that he is aware of rising interest rates and will continue engaging with bond market participants to manage debt policies appropriately. Meanwhile, Tokyo’s CPI rose by 2.6% year-over-year in August, down from 2.9% in July. After a 0.3% loss on Thursday, USD/JPY finds support and trades slightly above 147.00 in the European session.
📉 GBP and Gold GBP/USD posted modest gains for the third straight day on Thursday but lost momentum early Friday, trading below 1.3500 at the time of writing.
Gold extended its rally on Thursday, reaching its highest level since late July above $3,420. XAU/USD is correcting lower in the European morning but remains above the $3,400 threshold.