GBP/USD Finally Breaks Above The 1.70 Level

EUR/USD picked up 26 focuses to exchange at 1.3620 after the FOMC gathering and Janet Yellen's question and answer session yesterday. As indicated by the Financial Times, the IMF will sound the alert over the danger of collapse inside the euro zone and urge the ECB to think of us as style quantitative maneuvering, including substantial scale buys of sovereign bonds to animate development. An IMF assessment will be introduced today in Luxembourg.

GBP/USD finally did it, broke above the 1.70 level after retail sales exceeded expectations. The pair gained 37 points to trade at 1.7030. The May retail sales growth numbers, despite slowing more than expected, showed on Thursday that the overall sales scenario is still healthy.

AUD/USD gained 10 points on Friday morning to trade at 0.9408 as the greenback eased and promises from China helped support the currency. The Chinese government’s growth target for the year is about 7.5 per cent though officials have suggested in the past they can tolerate slightly slower growth as they push ahead with reforms to deal with overcapacity in sectors such as steel and cement that may cut growth.

USD/JPY fell by 7 points as the US dollar eased in the early session and traders moved to risk off mode supporting the yen after President Obama decided to send advisors to Iraq. The greenback headed for its sharpest drop in two months against the euro this week before U.S. data economists forecast will show manufacturing activity cooled and the economy shrank.

Gold added $14.60 to trade at 1286.70 as traders focused on Janet Yellen’s comments yesterday at the Federal Reserve press conference and also risk off trading rose as the conflict in Iraq escalated today. The US Federal Reserve further reduced its monthly asset purchases, to $35 billion as widely expected