The Sterling performed rather well on Tuesday, with exception against the Euro and the Greenback.
Oil prices retreated again, by slipping 2-3% amid increasing production in OPEC countries. Additionally, bears are benefitting from the decision of the People's Bank of China to devalue the Yuan. As a result, Crude spot hit a new five-year low at $43.07 per barrel, while Brent neared the $49 mark.
The Euro was boosted by Greek news on Tuesday, as the crisis-hit country reached an agreement with creditors on conditions of the bailout. However, there were other reasons of the common currency's rise in value. Among them, the People's Bank of China devalued the Yuan, which pushed the Australian Dollar and the Kiwi significantly downwards, namely by 1.6% and 1.2%
One of the FOMC member's, namely Fischer's, statement was quite dovish yesterday, therefore, rising doubts about the September interest rate hike.
The British Pound appreciated against most major peers on Monday, with exception against the Loonie.
Gold prices rallied more than one percentage point on Monday, extending gains above $1,100 per ounce amid dovish comments from the Fed Vice-Chairman Stanley Fisher. He assumed that the Federal Reserve may delay a rate hike, until it sees improving CPI readings.
Most of data published in Japan on Monday disappointed market participants. Therefore, there was a huge sell-off of the Yen against its peers including the Euro, as the EUR/JPY cross jumped 0.76%.
The Greenback experienced mixed performance over Friday and the weekend, as the Bureau of Labor Statistics posted worse-than-expected NFP data.
The Sterling kept suffering losses even on Friday, after less than expected MPC members voted to hike interest rates.
Initial reaction on US non-farm payrolls spurred a substantial drop in gold prices. However, weakness turned to be only short-lived and the metal regained strength to register an overall 0.24% rise on Friday.
Optimistic fundamentals from Canada failed to provide the Loonie with positive momentum in its pair with the Euro. As a result, EUR/CAD cross rallied 0.59% and was outperformed only by the EUR/CHF currency pair, which added 0.6%.
The Greenback experienced mixed performance on Thursday, as it declined against some major peers and appreciated versus the others.
The British Pound was one of the worst-performing currencies on Thursday, as the MPC Official Bank Rate Votes disappointed.
Oil is facing a steep weekly decline, while losses continued to be registered back on Thursday. Crude was down by 1% to trade below the $45 mark, while Brent fell 0.22% and therefore stayed under the level of $50 per barrel. Main reasons for a recent drop in prices are oversupply and strong US Dollar.
The Pound depreciated noticeably against the Euro on Thursday, by losing as much as 0.76%. As expected, the British currency stayed volatile after the massive release of a bunch of data, which included the official rate from the Bank of England, MPC meeting minutes and the Quarterly Inflation Report. Among them, the MPC vote split disappointed, as only one member
The US Dollar experienced mixed performance over the day.
The Sterling was one of the best-performing currencies on Wednesday, as it appreciated against most major currencies.
Commodities recorded somewhat mixed development in the past 24 hours. Among gainers, corn and silver rallied 1.06% and 0.31%, respectively. Gold remained broadly unchanged, while market participants are waiting for a report on US non-farm payrolls tomorrow.
The single European currency was up against the majority of its peers yesterday, including the Japanese Yen and Australian Dollar, which rallied the most by 0.55% and 0.52%, accordingly.
The US Dollar appreciated against most major peers, amid one of the Fed officials backing the view of a September rate hike.
The British currency experienced mixed performance over Tuesday.
Commodities traded in green on Tuesday, as all of them managed to show at least some positive daily change. Among them, oil prices have partly erased losses from Friday and Monday, when a plunge was reaching 3-4%. Yesterday, however, an increase amounted to just 1%; therefore, any stronger recovery is an issue for the long-term.
The biggest gainer of the previous day was the Aussie, which rallied almost 2% versus the common European currency. The Australian Dollar reacted in a positive way after the Reserve Bank decided to keep its interest rates unchanged.
The Sterling experienced mixed performance over the day with rather serious losses.