Key Updates for Thursday, August 14th
The British pound is showing strength, supported by positive data releases, and seems likely to hold its ground against competitors this Thursday. Later today, the U.S. economic calendar will feature producer inflation figures for July along with the first weekly unemployment claims.
This week’s US Dollar Price
The table below outlines how the US dollar (USD) has changed in value against other currencies this week, with the USD appearing weakest against the British pound.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | -0.38% | -1.00% | -0.75% | 0.10% | -0.28% | -0.01% | -0.29% | |
| EUR | 0.38% | -0.63% | -0.36% | 0.49% | 0.11% | 0.32% | 0.10% | |
| GBP | 1.00% | 0.63% | 0.22% | 1.12% | 0.74% | 0.96% | 0.73% | |
| JPY | 0.75% | 0.36% | -0.22% | 0.88% | 0.51% | 0.81% | 0.61% | |
| CAD | -0.10% | -0.49% | -1.12% | -0.88% | -0.36% | -0.16% | -0.40% | |
| AUD | 0.28% | -0.11% | -0.74% | -0.51% | 0.36% | 0.22% | 0.01% | |
| NZD | 0.01% | -0.32% | -0.96% | -0.81% | 0.16% | -0.22% | -0.22% | |
| CHF | 0.29% | -0.10% | -0.73% | -0.61% | 0.40% | -0.01% | 0.22% |
This heatmap illustrates the change rates among major currencies—selecting a base currency from the left column and an estimated currency from the top row reveals the rate represented in the corresponding box.
The UK’s National Statistics Office (ONS) announced that GDP grew at an annual rate of 1.2% in Q2, surpassing market predictions of 1%. This follows a 1.3% growth in Q1. Additional UK data indicated that industrial and manufacturing production rose by 0.7% and 0.5% respectively in June. The GBP/USD pair has gained ground, trading near 1.3600 and reaching its highest level in a month.
According to Australian data, unemployment fell from 4.3% to 4.2% in July, aligning with market expectations. Full-time employment rose by 60.5k, while part-time jobs saw a decline of 35.9k. The AUD/USD rate held steady around 0.6550 during early European sessions.
The US dollar index was positioned on Wednesday amid positive market sentiment. Early Thursday, however, it struggled for momentum, wavering below 98.00. The forecast for the producer price index (PPI) indicates a 2.5% year-over-year increase for July, following 2.3% in June.
The EUR/USD pair closed positively for two consecutive days on Wednesday and appears to be consolidating around the 1.1700 mark as European sessions progress.
In the commodities market, gold is trading slightly above $3,350, following a slight increase on Wednesday.
As for USD/JPY, it remains under significant bearish pressure early Thursday, trading below 146.50. Market watchers will keep an eye on Japan’s second quarter GDP and June’s industrial production data set to be released during Friday’s Asian session.
This information was updated at 07:14 GMT on August 14th, clarifying that the UK’s National Statistics Bureau released GDP data today, rather than on Tuesday.
