Euro climbs vs US dollar; pound slides

[NEW YORK] The euro leaped against the US dollar Friday as the market continued to rebound from Brexit slumps, while the pound resumed its slide following Bank of England hints of credit easing.

"What a difference a week makes," said Kathy Lien of BK Asset Management.

"The market went from preparing for another financial Armageddon post-Brexit to wondering if the worst is over."

The euro found support from improved labour data as unemployment fell to a near five-year low in May in the struggling single-currency bloc.

The euro jumped 3.1 per cent to US$1.1138.

"It was a good week for the euro, which like many other major currencies bounced off its Brexit lows," Ms Lien said.

"However now that the Bank of England opened the conversation about more easing, the European Central Bank could be next."

The pound, meanwhile, dived 3.5 per cent against the greenback to US$1.3267.

"The latest leg lower in the pound came after Bank of England governor Mark Carney said yesterday that monetary support for the post-Brexit economy was likely and that acting sooner rather than later was merited," said Omer Esiner of Commonwealth Foreign Exchange.

Noting that US markets will be closed Monday for a holiday, Ms Lien said investors would be closely following the dollar in the coming week. The key calendar events are the minutes of the last Federal Reserve monetary policy meeting on Wednesday and the June jobs report Friday.

AFP