On Friday, the dollar generally strengthened against the basket of major currencies, as the demand for the US currency is maintained with the support of yesterday's data on benefits, while the markets wait for the government data on employment in the US non-farm payrolls.
The dollar strengthened after the US Labor Department reported on Thursday that the number of individuals filing for initial unemployment benefits in the week ending May 2 rose by 3000, getting to 265 000 from 262 000 the previous week. The analysts had expected that the number of applications for unemployment benefits on the last week would increase by 18 000, to 280 000.
The investors are now looking forward to know the publication of government data on employment in the US non-farm payrolls, to get further guidance on the strength of the US labor market.
The USD index, which tracks the US currency against the basket of six major rivals, is unchanged at 94.74.
The Sterling Pound rose to a 2.5-month maximum. The pair GBP/USD jumped by 1.28% to 1.5440.
The Pound got stronger as a result of yesterday's elections, in which the Conservative Party of Great Britain has received more than half the seats in parliament, beating the Labour Party, which allowed David Cameron to abandon an eventual coalition with the Liberal Democrats and manage on his own.
Earlier on Friday, the data showed that UK house prices rose 1.6% last month, surpassing expectations for a 0.4% increase. The March figure was revised to an increase of 0.6% instead of 0.4%.
In addition, the Office for National Statistics reported that the UK trade deficit narrowed to £ 10.12 billion in March, from £ 10,80 billion, in which the figure was revised from a deficit £ 10.34 billion.
The euro also fell, the pair EUR/USD lost 0.25%, getting to 1.1237.
The dollar rose against the yen. The currency pair USD/JPY pair rose 0.22% to 120.00, and is stable against the Swiss franc, with USD / CHF being traded at 0.9211.
The protocol of the April policy meeting of the Bank of Japan showed that the majority of bank’s officials responsible for the policy, acted in favor of maintaining an aggressive asset purchase program. Nevertheless, the Bank of Japan board member - Takahide Quito, immediately offered to reduce the annual volume of bonds purchases almost to ¥ 45 trillion. But the proposal was rejected by eight votes to one.
Meanwhile, the pair NZD/USD is at 0.7446, and the pair USD/CAD fell 0.28% to 1.2091.