FX round-up: Euro and sterling gain in risk-on session
The single currency and sterling continued to move higher on Friday as economic data on other side of the Pond diverged and in a generally “risk-on” atmosphere.
US durable goods orders grew by 4% month-on-month in March (consensus: 0.6%) following a decline of 1.4% in the month before. However, excluding the transportation sector they slipped by 0.2% on the month (consensus: 0.3%).
On the other hand, the German IFO institute’s monthly business confidence gauge rose for a sixth consecutive month in June to hit the 108.6 point mark, up from a reading of 107.9 in the month before (consensus: 108.4).
The combination of the above data saw the euro/dollar climb 0.43% to 1.0868.
Cable was higher by 0.84% 1.5180.
In other news, after the close of trading ratings agency Fitch reaffirmed its rating on the long-term sovereign debt of Italy and Spain at BBB+, both with stable outlooks.
S&P affirmed Norway’s at AAA with a stable outlook.
US dollar/yen dropped -0.61% to 118.87.