The US dollar's weakness persists as the US Dollar Index (DXY) remains at one-year lows below 101.00. Investors are waiting for the US economic docket to feature Import and Export Price Index, March Retail Sales, and Industrial Production data, and the University of Michigan's preliminary Consumer Sentiment Index for April. After the soft inflation figures on Wednesday, the Producer Price Index fell sharply in March, causing the USD to come under renewed selling pressure. Wall Street's main indexes registered strong daily gains, but US stock index futures traded in negative territory in the European morning, pointing to a cautious market stance.
The EUR/USD extended its daily rally above 1.1000 on Thursday and touched its strongest level since March 2022 above 1.1070 early Friday. The USD's valuation is likely to continue to drive the pair's action heading into the weekend. Similarly, the GBP/USD closed the third straight day in positive territory on Thursday and managed to hold its ground during the Asian trading hours on Friday.
Gold prices registered impressive gains on Thursday and came within touching distance of $2,050, the highest level since it set an all-time high in March 2022 at $2,070. The XAU/USD seems to have gone into a consolidation phase around $2,040 early Friday. Meanwhile, the USD/JPY declined on Thursday amid broad-based selling pressure surrounding the US Dollar. Although the benchmark 10-year US Treasury bond yield held steady above 3.4%, the USD/JPY stayed relatively quiet at around 132.50 on Friday.
Cryptocurrencies continue their bullish momentum, with Bitcoin clearing the $30,000 hurdle and continuing to push higher toward $31,000 early Friday. Ethereum also gained more than 5% and rose above $2,000 for the first time since June. The ETH/USD preserves its bullish momentum and was last seen rising another 5% on the day at $2,120.
