Loonie ends the week down despite positive data

Key Movers

The US dollar gained slightly entering the Friday session as the euro and GBP both softened. The US Dollar Index (DXY) was up 0.2% this morning as the greenback strengthened against a basket of other major currencies. The basket is heavily weighted though to compare the USD to the euro, and as the EUR weakened off key data disappointments this morning, the DXY gained momentum. On the US data front, markets may see more pricing in of higher rate cuts in September as the Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) inflation data, released this morning, came in lower than expected. Consumer expenditures were up 2.6% last month, compared to an expected 2.7% bump. The PCE index measures the prices that people in the US pay for goods and services.

The euro lost ground against the USD this morning as data from the EU disappointed overnight. Core inflation across the EU came in at 2.8% as expected while employment in Germany came in with an addition of 2,000 jobs last month, short of the 16,000 that was expected for Europe’s biggest economy. French inflation was down but not as much as expected. Prices in the EU were expected to be up 1.8% year-over-year but came in at 1.9%.