Ella 
Here’s what you need to know for Friday, August 25:
The U.S. dollar strengthened against its rivals in the second half of Thursday, with the U.S. dollar index (DXY) notching its highest daily close since early June. The dollar held firm early Friday, with market participants eagerly awaiting a speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell later at a Jackson Hole symposium. The European economic agenda will include the IFO sentiment survey, with European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde speaking in the US evening hours.
While the greenback struggled to outperform its rivals following some dovish comments from Fed officials earlier Thursday, the negative turn in risk sentiment provided a boost for the greenback. Boston Fed President Susan Collins and Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker both said they may have reached a point where they could keep rates steady. Following Wednesday’s impressive rally, the Nasdaq Composite fell more than 2% on Thursday, while the S&P 500 fell nearly 1.5%. U.S. stock futures were mixed in early trade Friday, while the U.S. dollar index held marginally higher above 104.00.
After recovering above 1.0850 during Thursday’s European session, EUR/USD reversed course and ended the day in the negative. The pair continued to trade lower on Friday morning and last traded around 1.0780 for a loss of 0.2% on the day. Earlier in the day, data from Germany showed that real gross domestic product contracted by 0.2% quarter-on-quarter in the second quarter, in line with previous expectations and market expectations.
GBP/USD fell more than 100 pips on Thursday, falling below 1.2600. The pair continued to trade lower in early European trade around 1.2570, its weakest level in more than two months.
USD/JPY climbed back above 145.00 late Thursday, extending gains above 146.00 early Friday. Tokyo’s consumer price index rose 2.9% year-on-year in August, down from 3.2% in July and slightly below market expectations of 3%. Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda will speak at the Jackson Hole Symposium on Saturday.
Gold prices rose for a fourth straight day on Thursday as U.S. Treasury yields fell on dovish comments from the Federal Reserve despite broad-based dollar strength. XAU/USD remained relatively calm, trading within a narrow channel above $1,910 early on Friday.
Bitcoin failed to extend Wednesday’s gains and closed in the red on Thursday. At press time, BTC/USD is trading sideways around $26,000. Ethereum was down more than 1% on Thursday and last traded in the negative territory just below $1,650.
