Forex Daily Recap – The Greenback Edged Higher Underpinned Magnificient US March Jobless Claim Figures

GBP/USD

After the previous uplifts based on a little Brexit optimism, the British Pound Sterling pair finally saw south during the day. The plunge went imminent on the uprise of the greenback. US had witnessed some spectacular March Initial Jobless Claims numbers which helped the USD Index grow stronger amongst its rivals. In the meanwhile, speculations surrounding the additional extension in a possible Brexit triggered the shedding of leftover gains in the cable.

The plunge in the GBP/USD that began near 1.3191 levels crossed even beyond 1.3069 levels.

EUR/USD

The Euro pair was catching some momentum at the start of this month in the middle of US-Sino Trade Talk progresses and easing Brexit. Things turned upside down today at around 06:00 GMT.

After remaining in the consolidation mode last day, the euro pair saw a massive plunge as mentioned earlier on Thursday’s trading session. The slump got majorly triggered on the release of highly disappointing report figures. At 06:00 GMT, the Deutsche Bundesbank had released the German February Factory Orders, both YoY and MoM report. Unfortunately, both the numbers came out way too below the consensus estimation. The Yearly Factory orders reported as -8.4 percent as compared to the market expectation of -5.4 percent while the monthly reports recorded a huge of -4.5 percent down the street anticipation. The EUR/USD fell steeply from 1.1248 level landing near 1.1225 levels.

The drop worsened reaching 1.1207 level (at 12:30 GMT) after the announcement of the Dovish ECB Monetary Meeting minutes. The key highlights included the continued weakening of the manufacturing sector, muted inflation, domestic costing pressures, poor outlook on longer-term inflation figures, and discussion on undertaking the TLTRO-III to improve the economic condition.

USD/JPY

The Yen pair is seen to lift itself in a slow albeit positive phase since last three days. The pair is heading high to breach the strong resistance level formed at 111.71 level on March 20. USD/JPY tried hard not to go beyond the support line of 111.34 level and uplifted afterward on US Dollar Index elevation. The safe-haven pair made a fresh high of 111.63 level during the afternoon session.

 

US Dollar Index

A pretty great day for the US currency index. The index remained majorly in green during the day, creating new highs. This rise gets compensated for the losses made in a previous couple of days. Though the USD Index had a Gap Down Opening on Thursday morning, the future movements captured momentum to lift upwards in no time. The index reached fresh highs reaching 97.33 at 13:35 GMT. The primary rationale that helped the greenback computed against the six major rival currencies was the US-Sino progress reports. Gold futures, however, dropped on the rise of the dollar.

US March Continuous Jobless Claims computed since March 22, and Initial Jobless Claims measured since March 29 surprised the Street Analyst with some sound figures. The jobless claims numbers recorded lesser than expected. This piece of optimistic news added enormous fuel pushing USD Index to new levels.

USD/CAD

The loonie pair extended yesterday’s upward rally into the Thursday trading session. The USD/CAD pair started the day near 1.3342 levels making new highs near 1.3373 levels. Oil prices had shot up in the Asian session after the release of reports showing high crude inventories. The pair had already uplifted on the back of crude upsurge. March Ivey Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) for Canada reported 54.3 points, 3.2 points above the market expectation. These positive PMI numbers helped the USD/CAD sustain near the higher vicinity during the day.