GBP/USD edged lower by 0.2% on Thursday, settling close to 1.3350 in a strained trading session that kept the pair pinned near three-month lows.

NZD/USD fell over 0.7% on Thursday, settling close to 0.5900 and touching its lowest level since late January. The pair has now given back the bulk of its February gains, with a series of lower highs since peaking near 0.6090 in early February pointing to fading bullish momentum.

AUD/USD fell about 1% on Thursday, wrapping the day up near the 0.7010 level after testing below the key 0.7000 handle intraday. The pair has now pulled back sharply from Tuesday's bounce, with two consecutive bearish sessions erasing most of the week's early gains.

The EUR/USD edged lower on Thursday, down some 0.21% as market sentiment remains risk averse due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. This and solid US economic data pushed the pair lower towards the 1.1600 figure ahead of Friday’s session

USD/JPY advanced on Thursday during the North American session, up by nearly 0.30% as the Greenback is boosted by risk appetite deterioration, solid US jobs data and hawkish comments by the Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin.

The Mexican Peso depreciates sharply as hostilities intensify in the Middle East, triggering a flight to safety, which underpinned the US Dollar. Additionally, solid jobs data in the US decreased the chances that the Federal Reserve might cut rates twice this year.

USD/CHF rose about 0.44% on Thursday, pushing back above 0.7830 in a session that extended the recovery from last week's lows near the 0.7700 area.

The New Zealand Dollar plummets during the North American session as high US Treasury yields underpin the Greenback, which is registering a new two-day high as the Middle East conflict escalates.

AUD/USD trades around 0.7010 on Thursday at the time of writing, down 0.95% on the day, as the US Dollar continues to draw support from relatively strong US macroeconomic data and cautious market sentiment.

The Pound Sterling resumed its downtrend during the week, courtesy of heightened tensions in the Middle East and solid US employment data ahead of Friday's Nonfarm Payrolls report. At the time of writing, the GBP/USD trades at 1.3337, down 0.25%.

Rabobank’s Senior FX Strategist Jane Foley highlights that the Pound has recently outperformed the Euro, helped by fading expectations of Bank of England rate cuts, even though neither currency is seen as a safe haven.

MUFG’s Senior Currency Analyst Lee Hardman highlights that the Japanese Yen has held up relatively well despite the energy price shock, supported by expectations that the BoJ remains on track to raise rates, potentially as soon as April.

Commerzbank’s Charlie Lay highlights that the Indian Rupee has weakened as global Oil prices surge, pushing USD/INR above 92.00 for the first time.

NZD/USD trades lower around 0.5920 on Thursday at the time of writing, down 0.32% on the day, as the pair remains under pressure from a broadly firmer US Dollar (USd) and shifting expectations around New Zealand’s monetary policy outlook.

Rabobank’s Head of Macro Strategy Elwin de Groot highlights the European Commission’s Industrial Accelerator Act as a major step to rebuild the Eurozone industrial base, accelerate decarbonisation and reduce external dependencies.

EUR/JPY edges lower around 182.60 on Thursday at the time of writing, down 0.14% on the day, as the pair remains under pressure while the Japanese Yen (JPY) benefits from renewed safe-haven demand amid geopolitical crisis.

The EUR/USD pair claws back a majority of its early losses and rises to near 1.1625 during the European trading session on Thursday, but is still marginally down.

Eurozone Retail Sales, a key measure of consumer spending, surprisingly falls by 0.1% month-on-month (MoM) in January, while it was expected to grow 0.3%. In December, the consumer spending measure rose by 0.2%, revised positive from -0.5%.

Eurozone Retail Sales (YoY) above expectations (1.7%) in January: Actual (2%)

Eurozone Retail Sales (MoM) came in at -0.1% below forecasts (0.3%) in January

BNY strategist Geoff Yu argues that the sharp repricing of European natural gas futures has significantly overshot assumptions embedded in recent ECB staff projections.

The Japanese Yen (JPY) gives back its early gains and turns negative against the US Dollar (USD) during the European trading session on Thursday. The USD/JPY pair rises to near 157.35 as the US Dollar resumes its upside journey after a corrective move.

The USD/CAD pair trades flat at around 1.3645 during the European trading session on Thursday. The Loonie pair consolidates as the recovery move in the US Dollar (USD) after a slight correction has offset the strength in the Canadian Dollar.

Commerzbank’s Michael Pfister revisits international trade theory to explain why higher Oil prices and the US status as a net Oil exporter are supportive for the Dollar against the Euro.

AUD/USD pares its recent gains from the previous session, trading around 0.7050 during the early European hours on Thursday. The technical analysis of the daily chart indicates that the pair is remaining within the ascending channel pattern, indicating that bullish bias prevails.

The NZD/USD pair trades in negative territory around 0.5920 during the early European trading hours on Thursday. The New Zealand Dollar (NZD) softens against the Greenback on escalating conflict in the Middle East.

USD/CHF pares its recent losses from the previous session, trading around 0.7800 during the Asian hours on Thursday. The pair appreciates as the US Dollar (USD) gains ground, as the Iran conflict has entered its sixth day.

The EUR/JPY cross loses traction to near 182.35 during the early European session on Thursday. The Japanese Yen (JPY) edges higher against the Euro (EUR) as rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East drive investors toward safe-haven assets. 

EUR/USD depreciates after registering modest gains in the previous session, trading around 1.1610 during the Asian hours on Thursday. The technical analysis of the daily chart suggests a persistent bearish bias as the EUR/USD pair remains within the descending channel pattern.

The Pound Sterling trades lower against its major currency peers, is down 0.22% around 1.3340 against the US Dollar (USD), during the Asian trade on Thursday.