The Japanese yen and the Swiss franc were the strongest major currencies last week, while Australian dollar was the weakest. Volatility increased markedly over this period, as more than 75% of Forex currency pairs changed in value by more than 1%.
There is no doubt that this coming week will be all about trade policy. However, we still have a couple of economic reports to contend with, and Q1 earnings begin on Friday. Let's look at the incoming economic data.
Bitcoin performed relatively well in comparison to the rest of the markets. Although it gave up quite a bit of its gains, Bitcoin returned to where it started for the week, which is something that you cannot say for most assets.
The price of gold extended its losses on Friday and plunged to a seven-day low of $3,015 before the yellow metal recovered some ground after a speech by Jerome Powell. His speech indicated that inflation could reaccelerate due to tariffs.
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the performance of the US Dollar (USD) against six major currencies, rises on Friday and is trading near the 103 area following a stronger-than-anticipated Nonfarm Payrolls report.
During Friday’s session following the European close, the EUR/USD pair slipped back toward the 1.1000 area, surrendering part of its early-week strength.
Gold prices are extending on Friday their drop for the second consecutive day, hitting a seven-day low of $3,023 per troy ounce, down more than 2.80% as Fed Chair Jerome Powell turned hawkish in a conference in Virginia.
