The US Dollar (USD) remains relatively calm compared to other currencies on Friday, following four consecutive days of gains this week.
The US Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) is scheduled to release key economic data for April, including the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index, a preferred inflation gauge of the Federal Reserve.
The data will also include figures for Personal Income and Personal Spending. In addition, the US economic calendar features the Durable Goods Orders report and the final Consumer Sentiment Index from the University of Michigan for May.
After a series of positive macroeconomic data releases during Thursday’s American trading hours, the USD continued its weekly rally. The US Dollar Index reached its highest level since mid-March, surpassing 104.00.
The BEA announced a revision in the annualized Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth for Q1, increasing it to 1.3% from the initial estimate of 1.1%. Furthermore, the weekly Initial Jobless Claims for the week ending May 20 came in lower than expected at 229,000, compared to the market consensus of 245,000.
Meanwhile, US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy stated that an agreement on the debt ceiling has not been reached yet. However, negotiators are actively working towards a resolution.
US stock index futures showed slight declines on the day, and the benchmark 10-year US Treasury bond yield consolidated its weekly gains, hovering around 3.8%.
The EUR/USD pair came close to reaching the 1.0700 level, but a positive sentiment in the market helped it recover a small portion of its daily losses during the late American session on Thursday. Early on Friday, the pair continues to make incremental gains, inching closer to 1.0750.
Although GBP/USD experienced a decline of nearly 50 pips on Thursday, it managed to hold above the 1.2300 level. In the European morning, GBP/USD maintains slight daily gains while trading below 1.2350. The UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) is set to release the Retail Sales data for April.
During the Asian session, Australian data revealed that Retail Sales remained unchanged in April, falling short of market expectations for a 0.2% growth. Despite this report, AUD/USD largely disregarded the news and stabilized above 0.6500 early on Friday, following a decline of over 100 pips throughout the week.
USD/JPY reached its highest level since November, surpassing 140.00 on Thursday, but retraced below that level during Asian trading hours on Friday.
Japanese data indicated that the Tokyo Consumer Price Index rose by 3.2% on a yearly basis in May. This figure was considerably lower than analysts’ forecast of 3.9% and followed a 3.5% increase recorded in April.
The rising US Treasury bond yields continued to exert downward pressure on Gold prices on Thursday, causing XAU/USD to drop below $1,940 for the first time since mid-March. However, the pair showed signs of recovery early on Friday and is trading near $1,950.
Bitcoin recorded minor gains on Thursday but struggled to gain bullish momentum. Early on Friday, BTC/USD fluctuates within a narrow range around $26,500. Following a sharp decline on Wednesday, Ethereum appears to have stabilized around $1,800 during the latter half of the week.
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