Forex Today: Dollar bends but doesn’t break

Here is what you need to know on Friday, January 31st:

• The USD eased against high-yielding rivals but appreciated against commodity-linked currencies. Against safe-haven, the greenback spent most of the day losing ground, recovering ahead of Wall Street’s close after the WTO press conference on the coronavirus.
• US preliminary estimate of Q4  GDP met the market’s expectations with 2.1% but failed to boost dollar’s buying.
• The EUR/USD pair settled at around 1.1030 amid easing demand for the dollar.
• The BOE surprised with a hawkish stance, GBP/USD hit 1.3108. Only 2 MPC voted for a rate cut, against expectations of at least 3. Governor Carney was cautiously optimistic.
• The WTO declared the coronavirus outbreak an international emergency but overall was optimistic about contention, with risk-aversion easing ahead of the close.
• USD/JPY traded as low as 108.57, recovering toward 108.90.
• Gold soared to $ 1,586 a troy ounce shedding some $10 ahead of the close and following WTO presser.
• Crude oil prices fell sharply at the beginning of the day, recovering ahead of the close.
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