Weekly Wrap Up (24-28 July)

This week, there has been a lack of significant economic data. The start was in Australia, when inflation figures slowed in the second quarter of 2017 unexpectedly, with the consumer price index rising 1.9% year-on-year, while rising 0.2% quarter-on-quarter. The Australian dollar rose throughout the week against the US dollar, to a two-year high of 0.8064.

In Britain, officials confirmed that they are continuing their process of Brexit, and amid expectations that the Bank of England's next move will be raising interest rates, the economy continued to grow during the second quarter of 2017, with GDP rising 0.3% quarter-on-quarter, On an annual basis slowed to 1.7%. The pound continues to rise against the US dollar, hitting its highest level in almost a year at 1.3158.

In the US, as expected, the Federal Reserve kept interest rates at 1.25%, and did not give any new in FOMC statement, so the US dollar continued to decline since the beginning of the year as the dollar index reached at its lowest level since June 2016 at the strong support level 93. Despite the continued growth of the US economy, GDP grew by 2.6% in the second quarter of 2017, but the previous reading, which was revised downwards, added further pressure on the US dollar.

For the fifth day in a row, oil prices continued to rise during the week to reach a two-month high of  49.78$ a barrel in light of the continued decline in US crude inventories.