Dollar Surges Heading Into the Weekends, Pound Holds Steady

US Dollar: As markets continue in the American session, there is significant buying in the dollar. The rise has no obvious cause, except that some traders may be altering their positions ahead of the high-profile G7 meetings. The Swiss Franc’s resiliency confirms this proactive risk aversion. Sterling, however, is up after strong GDP figures. On the other hand, New Zealand and Australian dollars, as well as the Euro, are under increased selling pressure.

The greenback is rising in response to solid US Consumer Sentiment data. The preliminary June reading from the University of Michigan was 86.4, reversing prior increases and forecasting more stronger consumption in the future. Markets appeared to ignore the drop in the survey’s inflation expectations component.

The dollar failed to profit from May’s strong inflation statistics on Thursday. The headline Consumer Price Index increased to 5%, while the Core CPI increased to 3.8 percent, both of which were last witnessed several years ago. Friday’s rise could be a delayed reaction to that report, as well as a repositioning of traders ahead of the Federal Reserve’s decision next week.

The EUR/USD pair fell below the round 1.21 level, which was also the previous trough in June. The currency pair had touched a low of 1.2092 at the time of writing. Further support can be found at 1.2055, with resistance at 1.2145 if the price rises above 1.21.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) released data on UK manufacturing and manufacturing on Friday, suggesting that the UK manufacturing sector’s recovery slowed in April. Industrial production was -0.3% mom in April versus 1.5% expectations and 2.1% recorded in March, while total industrial production was -1.3% versus 1.2% expectations and 1. 8% last year.

On an annualized basis, manufacturing production in the UK manufacturing industry in April was 39.7%, falling short of expectations of 41.8%. Total industrial production jumped 27.5% in the fourth month of the year against the expected 30.5% and the previous 3.6% in print data.

GBP/USD continued its steady intraday decline early in the N American session and fell to fresh daily lows in the 1.4140-35 region over the past hour. The pair struggled to capitalize on the previous day’s solid rebound of more than 100 pips from the 1.4075-70 area, or four-week lows and failed again ahead of 1.400. Investors remain concerned that the UK may postpone its plans to completely lift the restrictions on June 21 in light of the spread of the so-called Delta variant.