What you need to know on Friday, April 9:
The greenback fell against all of its major rivals but the pound. Dovish comments from Federal Reserve chief Powell, subdued government bond yields and poor US employment-related data weighed on the American currency.
The GBP/USD pair held at the lower end of its weekly range, extending its slide by a few pips to 1.3718 and settling in the 1.3740 area. Concerns surrounding the AstraZeneca vaccine keep weighing on sterling, as the EMA found a “rare link” between the jab and blood clots. Nevertheless, the UK has given at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine to roughly 50% of the population, which brought sharply down the number of daily deaths and contagions.
The EUR/USD pair rallied up to 1.1927 retaining most of its gains by the end of the US session. Robert Holzmann, Austrian Central Bank Governor, said that the European Central Bank might be able to start reducing its bond purchases during the summer, providing support to the shared currency.
European and American shares posted modest intraday gains, providing some support to commodity-linked currencies. The Australian dollar found additional support in rising gold prices as spot advanced to its highest since March 1, ending the day around $ 1,755.00 a troy ounce.
XRP price headwinds are quickly being replaced by strong tailwinds
