Dollar Dominates on Friday

In his yesterday's speech, Fed Chair Jerome Powell signaled that 50 bps rate hikes at upcoming meetings were likely, and the usually more dovish leaning FOMC member Mary Daly even mentioned the possibility of a 75 bps move.

US yields exploded higher afterward, benefiting the greenback and sending sharply lower precious metals, such as gold and silver. Silver was down more than 2% yesterday, with another half a percent loss at the time of writing today, trading near 24.50 USD. Gold also declined, testing 1,950 USD as of right now. 

Equities also suffered, with the Nasdaq 100 index down more than 2% on Thursday, dropping to the lowest level since March 14. All three main US equity benchmarks remain below their respective 200-day moving averages. 

Later today, European PMIs for April are due and projected to decline slightly.  We will also see PMIs from the US economy and Canadian retail sales during the US session, likely impacting the USDCAD currency pair.