What you need to know on Friday, July 16:
Softer than anticipated Chinese growth undermined the market’s sentiment at the beginning of the day. The sour mood extended during US trading hours, with the dollar making the most out of it.
US Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell testified for a second consecutive day on monetary policy before Congress. His dovish stance added to the dismal sentiment, alongside mostly soft US data.
The EUR/USD pair hovers around 1.1800 while GBP/USD approaches 1.3800, after flirting with 1.3900 earlier in the day. Michael Saunders, a policymaker from the Bank of England said that during the upcoming months, they would discuss whether to curtail the current assets purchase program and/or take further policy action next year. He clarified that if the “bank rate does rise in the next year or so, it is likely that any rise would be relatively limited.”
Commodity-linked currencies also edged lower, with the Canadian dollar being the worst performer against the greenback, amid persistent oil weakness. WTI extended its slide and finished the day around $71.50 a barrel.
Gold prices consolidated weekly gains, ending the day at $1,828.50 a troy ounce.
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