Investing.com - The pound rallied to five-week highs against the broadly weaker dollar on Friday as a weak U.S. economic report underlined concerns that the recovery is cooling, dampening expectations for higher interest rates.
GBP/USD was up 0.88% to 1.5189 in late trade, the most since March 6, bringing the week’s gains to 1.5%.
Sterling shrugged off uncertainty over the outcome of the upcoming U.K. general election on May 7, which is likely to result in a hung parliament and an unstable coalition government.
The dollar weakened after the Commerce Department reported that orders for durable goods, excluding aircraft, fell 0.5% in March, after a downwardly revised 2.2% drop in February.
The headline figure rose 4.0%, beating expectations for a 0.6% gain, but investors focused on underlying weakness in the report.
The data came after recent weak reports on home sales, retail sales and industrial production, adding to signs of a slowdown in economic growth since the start of the year.
The weak data added to pressure on the dollar which has been hit as investors pushed back expectations on the timing of an initial rate hike by the Federal Reserve.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was last down to 97.07 late Friday. The index ended the week down 0.62%, its second consecutive monthly decline.
The pound received a boost earlier in the week after Wednesday’s minutes of the Bank of England’s April meeting showed that officials see an improved chance that inflation could bounce back more strongly in 2015.
In the week ahead investors will be looking to Wednesday’s Fed statement for clues on the possible timing of a rate increase. Investors will also be focusing on Wednesday’s preliminary reading on U.S. first quarter growth as well as reports on inflation, consumer confidence and manufacturing. The U.K. is to release an initial estimate of first quarter growth on Tuesday.
Ahead of the coming week, Investing.com has compiled a list of these and other significant events likely to affect the markets.
Monday, April 27
The U.K. is to release private sector data on industrial order expectations.
Tuesday, April 28
The U.K. is to publish preliminary data on first quarter economic growth.
Later Tuesday, the U.S. is to release private sector data on consumer confidence.
Wednesday, April 29
The U.K. is to release a private sector report on retail sales.
The U.S. is to publish preliminary data on first quarter economic growth in addition to a report on pending home sales.
Later in the day the Federal Reserve is to announce its monetary policy decision and publish its rate statement.
Thursday, April 30
The U.S. is to publish data on initial jobless claims.
Friday, May 1
The U.K. is to release data on manufacturing activity.
The U.S. is to round up the week with a report for the Institute of Supply Management on Manufacturing activity and revised data on consumer sentiment.