The Cable rose on Friday morning on the back of the Irish consumer confidence index and February Nationwide Housing Prices on a year-on-year basis. The GBP / USD is following a bullish trend in early trading hours from 1.3054 to 1.3083.
By midday, however, the pair was down. It fell sharply from the resistance level at 1.3083 directly down to the level of 1.3013. This slide occurred due to growing concerns over the chaos of Brexit extension. However, the GDP figures released in the UK saved the pair from further decline. Later in the day, the main event of the UK parliamentary vote on the exit agreement ended, with the deal being rejected again for the third time. After this event, the pair fell to its lowest level until then at 1.2978.
The dollar index
Although US fourth-quarter GDP data came in lower than expected, the US dollar index rose 0.1% to close at 96.773 on Thursday morning. Later in the day, the dollar again rose on weakness in the currencies that were weighing down against the index. The GBP / USD has fallen sharply on mounting concerns about uncertainty about extending Britain’s exit from the EU. Later, the dollar index gave up its morning gains after the release of personal consumer spending data for January, as the figures were lower than economists’ estimates. The Chicago Board of Directors Index for March closed 58.7 points higher than the market forecast of 61.0 points. Michigan’s consumer confidence index and new home sales for February helped the US dollar index from dropping further.
NZD / USD
On the second day after the pair’s significant decline, the NZD / USD pair retreated from previous losses. The pair rose slowly to new targets amid weak US consumer spending data. After starting the day at 0.6782, the currency pair reached new levels near 0.6819 levels. The pair also headed to break the last day’s high at 0.6828. However, the NZD / USD was unable to gain as the US consumer confidence and home sales index posted higher than market expectations.
USD / CAD
The pair’s main highlight for today is the sharp drop that took place in the middle of the day, making the pair retreat from 1.3422 to 1.3351. The USD / CAD pair dropped after the release of Canadian GDP figures for January. The gross domestic product (GDP) was 0.3% compared to the consensus estimate of 0.0%. The pair made a range bound move during early trading sessions amid lower crude oil prices. US President Donald Trump’s press releases are expected to have downward pressure on crude oil prices. However, the WTI crude oil futures contract continues to reach new record highs at $60.71 a barrel.
USD / JPY
Japanese housing figures were up 4.2% from 0.5%. The safe-haven pair fell from 110.79 yen to 110.55 yen per dollar after the positive reports. During the day, USD / JPY broke into a range-bound trade with the resistance level at 110.93 and the support level at 110.55.
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