AIRLINK 196.38 Increased By ▲ 4.54 (2.37%)
BOP 10.11 Increased By ▲ 0.24 (2.43%)
CNERGY 7.75 Increased By ▲ 0.08 (1.04%)
FCCL 38.10 Increased By ▲ 0.24 (0.63%)
FFL 15.74 Decreased By ▼ -0.02 (-0.13%)
FLYNG 24.54 Decreased By ▼ -0.77 (-3.04%)
HUBC 130.38 Increased By ▲ 0.21 (0.16%)
HUMNL 13.73 Increased By ▲ 0.14 (1.03%)
KEL 4.60 Decreased By ▼ -0.07 (-1.5%)
KOSM 6.19 Decreased By ▼ -0.02 (-0.32%)
MLCF 44.85 Increased By ▲ 0.56 (1.26%)
OGDC 206.51 Decreased By ▼ -0.36 (-0.17%)
PACE 6.58 Increased By ▲ 0.02 (0.3%)
PAEL 39.77 Decreased By ▼ -0.78 (-1.92%)
PIAHCLA 17.20 Decreased By ▼ -0.39 (-2.22%)
PIBTL 7.99 Decreased By ▼ -0.08 (-0.99%)
POWER 9.20 Decreased By ▼ -0.04 (-0.43%)
PPL 178.91 Increased By ▲ 0.35 (0.2%)
PRL 38.93 Decreased By ▼ -0.15 (-0.38%)
PTC 24.31 Increased By ▲ 0.17 (0.7%)
SEARL 109.27 Increased By ▲ 1.42 (1.32%)
SILK 1.00 Increased By ▲ 0.03 (3.09%)
SSGC 37.75 Decreased By ▼ -1.36 (-3.48%)
SYM 18.83 Decreased By ▼ -0.29 (-1.52%)
TELE 8.53 Decreased By ▼ -0.07 (-0.81%)
TPLP 12.14 Decreased By ▼ -0.23 (-1.86%)
TRG 64.76 Decreased By ▼ -1.25 (-1.89%)
WAVESAPP 12.11 Decreased By ▼ -0.67 (-5.24%)
WTL 1.64 Decreased By ▼ -0.06 (-3.53%)
YOUW 3.87 Decreased By ▼ -0.08 (-2.03%)
BR100 12,000 Increased By 69.2 (0.58%)
BR30 35,548 Decreased By -112 (-0.31%)
KSE100 114,256 Increased By 1049.3 (0.93%)
KSE30 35,870 Increased By 304.3 (0.86%)

LONDON: The dollar and euro were little changed on Thursday after the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank hinted they were willing to leave interest rates alone amid trade tensions and signs of flagging growth.

Sterling traded flat after European Union leaders extended the deadline for Britain to leave the EU, suggesting fears remain about where Brexit is headed.

Currency markets are waiting for key economic data from China: trade figures due on Friday and first-quarter gross domestic product due next week.

The Fed on Wednesday released the minutes on its March 19-20 meeting at which policy-makers signaled they would not raise rates in 2019.

ECB President Mario Draghi underscored the risks facing the euro zone economy, reinforcing bets on further stimulus to prevent the region from slipping into recession.

Investors are focused on where the pound is headed after another delay to Brexit.

The advantages for sterling, as well as UK and European equities, include the removal of a near-term, no-deal Brexit. But that is offset by the prospects of UK Prime Minister Theresa May's replacement, a general election and the threat to the UK economy of prolonged uncertainty.

As a result, no conviction bets emerged on the pound and it remains stuck just below $1.31.

"The extension is unlikely to improve business confidence much, thus limiting the upside to GBP," said Chris Turner, head of foreign exchange strategy at ING.

"The rising probability of a change in Conservative Party leadership ahead of the new October deadline suggests a difficulty for EUR/GBP to move below the 0.85 pence level," he said.

Concern about big swings in the pound have subsided, according to one-month implied volatility, which fell to a seven-month low.

The dollar index last stood at 96.93, flat on the day, after slipping to a two-week low of 96.823 on Wednesday.

The euro last held at $1.1276, recovering from Wednesday's low of $1.12295, keeping intact its slow rise from $1.1183 on April 2.

Commodity currencies including the Aussie were also helped by recent gains in commodity prices.

Copyright Reuters, 2019
 

Comments

Comments are closed.