Today in Forex: Markets Drop Suddenly on Black Friday

On Friday, November 25, here's everything you need to know:

Financial market activity remained muted on Black Friday owing to low volumes. Following the Thanksgiving Day holiday, bond and stock markets will shut early, and there will be no high-impact macroeconomic data releases on the economic calendar. Profit-taking ahead of the weekend might increase volatility in the afternoon and create erratic swings in key currency pairings. Meanwhile, US stock index futures rose modestly in early European morning trade, indicating a somewhat positive market attitude.

China recorded 32,695 coronavirus cases during Asian trade hours, hitting a daily record for the second day in a row. Chinese authorities ordered widespread testing and tightened restrictions in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. Nonetheless, the Shanghai Composite Index maintains small daily increases, while the Hang Seng Index is down just 0.3% for the week.

In energy-related news, Saudi and Iraqi energy ministers released a statement early Friday, indicating that they would take more steps to preserve oil market stability. After plummeting over 5% on Wednesday, crude oil prices began to rise in the second part of the week, with a barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) ending the day up 0.5% at $78.30.

On Thursday, the EUR/USD failed to make a clear move in either direction and ended the day flat. The pair is still trading in a limited range around 1.0400 early Friday.

GBP/USD reached its highest level in three months on Thursday, at 1.2155, but lost its positive momentum. The pair was trading sideways at 1.2100 at the time of publication. Nonetheless, the GBP/USD is expected to close the third week in positive territory.

The USD/JPY pair is trading in a limited range below 139.00 early Friday. According to Japanese statistics, the yearly Consumer Price Index (CPI) in Tokyo increased to 3.8% in November, up from 3.5% in October. This result was higher than the market forecast of 3.6%, but there was no discernible market response.

Statistics Retail Sales in New Zealand increased by 0.3% on a quarterly basis in the third quarter, contrasting with analysts' expectations of a 3.4% decline. Despite the better-than-expected figures, the NZD/USD pair failed to gain traction and was last seen trading at about 0.6250.

The gold price rose somewhat on the day and ended over $1,750 on Thursday. XAU/USD rose beyond $1,760 in the Asian session before falling down to $1,755 in the European morning.

Bitcoin finished flat on Thursday after a two-day rise but lost traction on Friday. BTC/USD was last priced at $16,400, down more than 1% on the day. Ethereum is trading below $1,200, down roughly 2% on the day.

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