The Dollar was notably weaker on Friday, enabling both the Euro and Pound to make gains against the Greenback to close the week. EURUSD was able to surpass the 1.21 handle as US Retail Sales “unexpectedly stalled in April as the boost from stimulus checks faded”. The US Commerce Department “said on Friday the unchanged reading in retail sales last month followed a 10.7% surge in March, an upward revision from the previously reported 9.7% increase”. This came as a clear blow to Dollar bulls as “Economists polled by Reuters had forecast retail sales would rise 1.0%." While “Dow Jones had expected a more modest 0.8% increase.” Adding to the Greenback’s woes was the the US Dollar Index (DXY) coming under significant pressure on Friday, hindering the Dollar’s performance further, dropping to lows of near 90.50.
GBPUSD opened Friday at 1.4053 and experienced a heavy sell-off in the morning, causing the rate to drop. However, cable showed strong resilience in the afternoon to regain those losses, finally closing the week at 1.4087.
GBPEUR in contrast made a minor loss on Friday. The pair opened at 1.1618 and closed at 1.1610.
EURUSD saw the most action on Friday – impressively surging beyond the 1.21 mark. The pair started the day at 1.2095 and finished the week at 1.2133.
On the data front, it is a very quiet schedule on Monday. With this being so, all eyes will be looking the UK’s latest employment figures released early Tuesday morning. The first of the releases will be February’s Employment Change, which has a previous of -73K. Average Earnings, Claimant Count Change, and Unemployment Rate will also be released at the same time. These figures will give markets an insight into how the UK’s labour market is ‘recovering’ and if looked upon positively by investors, we could see Sterling gain some upside.
