We have seen continued strength for the US dollar this week as talk emerged of recent US economic data being supportive of the view that this year’s first quarter economic performance has been similar to last year’s poor showing. This was down to other factors such as the weather. Due to this, whispers are resurfacing regarding the timing of a US interest rate rise.

On a positive note for the US economy, core durable goods came out as expected for the first time in 9 months, with consumer confidence also showing slight growth. However, the weekly unemployment claims showed weaker than expected figures, but as this was a weekly figure this did not have too much of an impact of the US dollar. Multiple US Federal Reserve members also spoke during the week, with a June interest rate rise still being mooted as an option.

Today the focus will be on the preliminary growth data with expectation surrounding a figure in the negative. This would mirror the first-quarter data releases showing that the US economy was struggling, which seems to be a regular seasonal occurrence.

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It was a very quiet day on Wednesday for the US dollar, with no data releases to prod it. There was slight continued strength for the US currency, mainly due to hawkish comments from a US Federal Reserve member regarding a possible interest rate rise in June. Recent US economic data has been supportive of the view that this year’s first quarter economic performance was similar to last year and down to other factors, such as the weather and an extended port strike, and not due to systemic weakness in the US economy, hence the re-emergence of talk concerning the timing of US interest rate increases.

A positive Tuesday for the US dollar saw it strengthen against the majority of its peers. This was attributed to euro weakness against the dollar, and positive data releases in the afternoon from the US. Ongoing Greece and Eurozone talks, which seem to be no closer to an agreement, paved the way for the US dollar to strengthen. We saw continued US dollar strength in the afternoon on the back of positive core durable goods orders and consumer confidence.

Against the US dollar, sterling has given back some of its post-election gains and is hovering around the support level of 1.54.

Friday was a very positive day for the US dollar on, as American Core inflation data grew to highs that have not been seen for nearly a year. This was a very positive figure for the US economy, which has been struggling with low inflation due to the low oil price.…

There was a positive start to the week for the US dollar as it strengthened against sterling for the first time since the UK General Election.

Positive housing and building data on Tuesday, coupled with both a weak euro and weakened sterling contributed to the strength seen by the US dollar – which gained two cents against both currencies.…