The U.S. dollar was weak against most of its rivals on Friday, extending recent weakness, amid a drop in bond yields.
After reporting a substantial rebound in U.S. consumer sentiment in the previous month, the University of Michigan released a report on Friday showing sentiment has continued to improve in April but by much less than anticipated.
A report released by the Commerce Department on Friday showed a substantial rebound in new residential construction in the U.S. in the month of March. The Commerce Department said housing starts skyrocketed by 19.4 percent to an annual rate of 1.739 million in March after plunging by 11.3 percent to a revised rate of 1.457 million in February.
China's economy registered record growth in the first quarter of 2021, largely due to the extremely low base of comparison as the pandemic struck the economy in the same period last year. Gross domestic product advanced 18.3 percent on a yearly basis in the first quarter, much faster than the 6.5 percent growth posted in the preceding quarter, data from the National Bureau of Statistics revealed.
Consumer prices from euro area and new car registrations from Europe are due on Friday, headlining a light day for the European economic news. At 2.00 am ET, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association is scheduled to issue Europe's new car registrations data for March.
The U.S. dollar recovered some ground after sliding in the Asian session, but was largely struggling to score over its major counterparts on Thursday.
Reflecting strong buyer demand, the National Association of Home Builders released a report on Thursday showing a modest increase in U.S. homebuilder confidence in the month of April. The report said the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index inched up to 83 in April after dipping to 82 in March, matching economist estimates.
Business inventories in the U.S. increased in line with economist estimates in the month of February, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Thursday. The Commerce Department said business inventories climbed by 0.5 percent in February after rising by an upwardly revised 0.4 percent in January.
After reporting a sharp pullback in U.S. industrial production in the previous month, the Federal Reserve released a report on Thursday showing production rebounded in the month of March. The Fed said industrial production jumped by 1.4 percent in March after plunging by a downwardly revised 2.6 percent in February.
New York manufacturing activity grew strongly in the month of April, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York revealed in a report on Thursday. The New York Fed said its general business conditions index climbed to 26.3 in April from 17.4 in March, with a positive reading indicating growth in regional manufacturing activity. Economists had expected the index to inch up to 19.5.
A report released by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia on Thursday showed an unexpected acceleration in the pace of growth in regional manufacturing activity in the month of April. The Philly Fed said its index for current manufacturing activity rose to 50.2 in April from a downwardly revised 44.5 in March, with a positive reading indicating growth.
Retail sales in the U.S. spiked by much more than expected in the month of March, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Thursday. The Commerce Department said retail sales skyrocketed by 9.8 percent in March after tumbling by a revised 2.7 percent in February.
A report released by the Labor Department on Thursday showed first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits pulled back by much more than anticipated in the week ended April 10th, falling to their lowest levels since the early days of the pandemic.
Turkey's central bank maintained its key interest rate, as widely expected, at the first meeting rate-setting meeting of Sahap Kavcioglu as the governor. The Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey decided to hold the key one-week repo rate to 19.00 percent.
Final consumer prices from Germany and France are due on Thursday, headlining a light day for the European economic news. At 2.00 am ET, the Office for National Statistics releases Germany's final CPI and HICP data for March. According to preliminary estimate, consumer price inflation advanced to 1.7 percent from 1.3 percent in February.