As the end of the week came to a close, the Pound remained relatively rangebound after news of the Indian variant of the coronavirus threatened to undo any economic progress that had been made.
Warnings of a potential slow-down of the reopening left investors feeling sceptical about the future and that forced it to remain subdued. As a result, the currency finished at 1.1611 against the Euro and 1.4101 against the US Dollar according to the Foreign Exchange Market.
The Euro gained momentum on Friday after the latest minutes from the European Central Bank’s policy meeting were released. The tone from the meeting was more upbeat, indicating that there is hope that the bloc will return to growth during Q2 of 2021, helping the single currency to take advantage of a drop in the US Dollar.
The release of disappointing US retail sales figures on Friday forced the US Dollar to finish the week on a low. Experts had expected the figures to slow after the March figures were inflated but the stalling sales growth shocked investors and that pushed the Greenback down.