Societe Generale analysts report USD/ZAR has broken above a multi-month descending trend line and reclaimed its 200-day moving average, suggesting renewed upside momentum. The South African Reserve Bank surprised markets by holding rates at 7.0%.

Brown Brothers Harriman’s (BBH) Elias Haddad notes that USD/JPY is consolidating just below a multi-decade high as Japan’s private sector growth strengthens and Consumer Price Index (CPI) tracks below Bank of Japan (BoJ) forecasts.

EUR/JPY consolidates modest losses on Friday as fresh data from Japan and the Eurozone fails to generate a strong market response. At the time of writing, the cross trades around 186.30 after reaching a 12-week high of 186.67 on Thursday.

Brown Brothers Harriman’s (BBH) Elias Haddad highlights that GBP/USD is consolidating near 1.3300 as United Kingdom (UK) data signal a more favourable growth-inflation mix.

OCBC’s Sim Moh Siong and Christopher Wong observe that while the European Central Bank (ECB) left rates unchanged in July and is expected to deliver at least one more 25 bp hike to 2.50% in September, rising energy prices still tilt terms-of-trade in favor of the US Dollar (USD) over the Euro (EUR).

Societe Generale strategists highlight that the Indian Rupee (INR) stayed defensive as Brent Oil rose to $100, countering support from recent policy steps to attract capital inflows.

Deutsche Bank strategists note that the European Central Bank (ECB) kept its deposit rate at 2.25%, while its communication continued to leave the door open to further tightening.

NZD/USD trades around 0.5790 on Friday at the time of writing, up 0.27% on the day as the pair recovers from a one-and-a-half-week low, although bullish momentum remains limited by the underlying strength of the US Dollar (USD).

According to Commerzbank’s Tatha Ghose, the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye (CBRT) kept its one-week repo rate at 37.0% and maintained the corridor at 35.5%-40.0%. With the repo window still closed, effective funding remains near 40%, which Ghose views as Lira-supportive.

EUR/GBP trades around 0.8550 at the time of writing on Friday, remaining broadly stable despite a series of stronger-than-expected economic releases from the Eurozone and the United Kingdom (UK).

The USD/JPY pair edges lower on Friday as bulls turn cautious in anticipation of a potential government intervention to prop up the Japanese Yen (JPY).

MUFG’s Derek Halpenny says the ECB’s latest communication supports a likely September rate hike, now almost fully priced, but warns that Euro support may fade as energy costs rise.

The Euro (EUR) ticks up against the US Dollar (USD) on Friday but remains capped below 1.1400, and dangerously close to the year-to-date low, at 1.1324.

Preliminary HCOB Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), in the oldest continent, expands at a faster pace to 52.0 in July from June’s figure of 51.4. The manufacturing activity was anticipated to expand but at a moderate pace to 51.3.

Silver (XAG/USD) edges up on Friday's early European trading session, returning to levels above $58.00 as the US Dollar trims some gains.

Here is what you need to know on Friday, July 24:

The USD/CAD pair trades in negative territory near 1.4075 during the early European trading hours on Friday. Escalating conflicts in the Middle East boost crude oil prices, supporting the commodity-linked Canadian Dollar (CAD) against the US Dollar (USD).  

The Euro (EUR) rallies further against the British Pound (GBP) as the latter weakens despite upbeat United Kingdom (UK) Retail Sales data for June. The EUR/GBP pair jumps to near 0.8550 in the European trading session on Friday, the highest level seen in two weeks.

The British Pound (GBP) remains pinned near three-week lows against the US Dollar (USD) on Friday, trading near 1.3300 and on track for a 1% weekly decline.

The Australian Dollar (AUD) trades marginally higher at around 0.6976 against the US Dollar (USD) during the European trading session on Friday.

UOB Global Economics & Markets Research reports that EUR/USD slipped 0.3% to 1.1377 as the Euro (EUR) weakened against the US Dollar (USD) despite the European Central Bank (ECB) leaving rates unchanged and President Lagarde acknowledging some calls for a hike.

The Indian Rupee gains strongly after a flat opening against the US Dollar (USD) on Friday. The USD/INR pair declines to near 96.50 as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has intervened again to support the Indian Rupee.

The EUR/USD pair gathers strength to near 1.1385 during the early European trading hours on Friday, bolstered by the prospect of imminent European Central Bank (ECB) rate hikes.

USD/CHF continues its winning streak for the fifth successive day, trading around 0.8170 during the Asian hours on Friday. The pair appreciates as the US Dollar (USD) pares its daily losses amid rising safe-haven demand due to escalating conflicts in the Middle East.

The NZD/USD pair attracts some buyers during the Asian session on Friday and moves away from a one-and-a-half-week trough, around the 0.5760 region touched the previous day.

The AUD/JPY cross trades in positive territory around 114.25 during the early European trading hours on Friday. The Australian Dollar (AUD) strengthens against the Japanese Yen (JPY) on a strong Australian employment report for June. 

EUR/JPY extends its gains for the fourth consecutive day, trading around 186.50 during the Asian hours on Friday. The currency cross is maintaining a bullish near-term bias as price holds above both the nine-period and 50-period Exponential Moving Averages (EMAs).

Silver price (XAG/USD) inches higher after registering over 4% losses in the previous day, trading around $57.60 per troy ounce during the Asian hours on Friday.

The GBP/USD pair recovers some lost ground to near 1.3325, snapping the five-day losing streak during the Asian trading hours on Friday. However, the potential upside might be limited amid heightened military tensions in the Middle East.

The USD/CAD pair attracts fresh sellers during the Asian session on Friday and currently trades around the 1.4070 zone, down 0.10% for the day amid a softer US Dollar (USD).