Gold price retreats by over 2.30% on Friday amid fears that prolonged hostilities between the US and Iran could trigger a second wave of inflation, forcing central banks to hike interest rates. The XAU/USD trades at $4,551 after bottoming at around $4,511.
EUR/GBP climbs to near one-month highs on Friday as rising political uncertainty in the United Kingdom pressures the British Pound (GBP). At the time of writing, the cross is trading around 0.8726, on track for weekly gains.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) US Oil extends its rally on Friday, with the US benchmark trading around $100.90 at the time of writing, up 3.13% on the day, and breaking above the $100 level to reach a fresh weekly high.
The GBP/USD extends its losses for the fourth straight day, poised to finish the week down more than 2% as political turmoil in the UK and increased speculation that Starmer’s successor could widen fiscal deficits weigh on the currency.
TD Securities’ James Rossiter and Julie Ioffe argue that Prime Minister Starmer is likely to be replaced by late September, with Labour’s leadership race centering on Burnham, Streeting, Rayner and Miliband.
Societe Generale economists highlights that Eurozone 2026 GDP forecasts have been cut more than United States (US) projections in percentage terms, reinforcing United States (US) outperformance.
The Euro (EUR) extends losses against the US Dollar (USD) on Friday, with EUR/USD slipping to near one-month lows as hawkish Federal Reserve (Fed) expectations boost the Greenback and US Treasury yields.
The USD/CAD pair elevated near the 1.3760 level on Friday and remains supported by persistent inflation concerns and rising US Treasury yields following this week’s hotter-than-expected US inflation data.
AUD/USD falls sharply on Friday and trades around 0.7155 at the time of writing, down 0.91% on the day, after hitting its lowest level in more than a week. The pair remains under heavy selling pressure for the second consecutive day amid broad-based US Dollar (USD) strength.
DBS economists Taimur Baig and Radhika Rao expect Japan’s 1Q Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to grow 1.8% QoQ saar, supported by firm exports and AI- and semiconductor-related investment, keeping their 0.5% full-year GDP forecast on track.
Ripple (XRP) is grinding lower and testing support at $1.43 at the time of writing on Friday. It is pressured by strong bearish waves from the supply range at $1.50, which has capped its upside since Monday.
Commerzbank's Commodity Analyst Barbara Lambrecht reports that focus in London is turning to Platinum group metals as the World Platinum Investment Council prepares updated forecasts.
TD Securities’ Senior Canada Economist Robert Both expects Canadian Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation to rise to 3.1% year-on-year in April, driven mainly by higher energy and food prices and base effects from last year’s carbon tax changes.
ING's Francesco Pesole notes the US Dollar (USD) is gaining strong short-term momentum as hotter US data reinforce expectations for a Federal Reserve (Fed) hike.
Scotiabank strategists Shaun Osborne and Eric Theoret highlight that USD/CAD is grinding higher into the mid‑1.37s, with the Canadian Dollar (CAD) underperforming but still faring better than many G10 commodity peers.
Industrial Production in the United States (US) expanded by 0.7% on a monthly basis in April, the Federal Reserve (Fed) reported on Friday. This print followed the 0.3% contraction reported in March and came in better than the market expectation for an increase of 0.3%.
Rabobank strategists outline how a disruption in the Strait of Hormuz could affect Oil and refined products.
Silver (XAG/USD) plunges on Friday, erasing all gains recorded earlier this week as hawkish Federal Reserve (Fed) expectations push US Treasury yields and the US Dollar (USD) higher.
Commerzbank’s Thu Lan Nguyen notes that Aluminium production in China has exceeded official caps thanks to high prices and ample alumina, but this may not fully offset disrupted Gulf supply.
USD/JPY trades around 158.55 on Friday at the time of writing, up 0.11% on the day, as the pair extends its bullish momentum for a fifth straight day.
Societe Generale’s Kit Juckes notes that while US yields have risen sharply since the conflict with Iran, the Dollar’s appreciation has been relatively modest because rates have also increased elsewhere.