Pound Buoyed by Easing Political Uncertainty
The Pound firmed on Friday as the conclusion of the UK’s local elections helped to ease some of the recent political uncertainty which had hung over Sterling.
However, this upside in Sterling remained capped amid speculation over the result of the Scottish election.
In the spotlight at the start of this week’s session will be the government’s latest coronavirus press conference, in which Boris Johnson is expected to formally confirm plans to open up more of the UK economy from 17 May.
GBP exchange rates are continuing to rally this morning as UK political calm appears to return and optimism builds ahead of the reopening announcement.
So far this morning, the Pound US Dollar exchange rate is soaring above $1.40 and GBP/EUR is recovering last week’s losses.
Euro Rallies on Upbeat German Industrial Data
The Euro closed last week’s session on a high, with EUR exchange rates being bolstered by a stronger-than-expected rebound in German industrial production in March.
The single currency then accelerated further on Friday afternoon as its negative correlation with the US Dollar saw it bolstered by a sharp pullback in USD exchange rates.
Looking ahead, the main catalyst of movement in the Euro will be the latest ZEW surveys, with the single currency likely to slide if German economic sentiment has weakened again this month.
US Dollar Plummets on Disappointing Payroll Figures
The US Dollar suffered an aggressive selloff at the end of last week’s session in the wake of abysmal payroll figures.
The latest release revealed that the US economy only added 266,000 jobs in April, well below expectations that payrolls would jump by almost 1 million, which resulted in the unemployment rate unexpectedly ticking up to 6.1%.
Turning to this week’s session, the focus for USD investors will be on the US consumer price index. April’s index is expected to report a sharp rise in inflation, but with the Federal Reserve still a long way off its next rate hike. Will the jump in price growth reflect negatively on the US Dollar?
Canadian Dollar Slumps Following Sharp Rise in Unemployment
The Canadian Dollar was also soured by disappointing employment figures on Friday, with the ‘Loonie’ slumping after domestic unemployment jumped from 7.5% to 8.1% in April.
Australian Dollar Buoyed by Upbeat Business Confidence
After rallying on Friday, the Australian Dollar has opened this week’s session with modest gains following a sharper-than-expected rise in domestic business morale.
New Zealand Dollar Flat amidst Coronavirus Jitters
The New Zealand Dollar got off to a slow start this week with investors shying away from the risk sensitive ‘Kiwi’ amidst ongoing concerns over India’s coronavirus situation.
Data Releases
17:00 GBP Government Press Conference