The euro gained noticeably on Friday after weak US consumer confidence. In the evening, the common currency was traded at $ 1.18. That morning it had cost $ 1.1729. The consumer climate in the USA surprisingly and significantly clouded over in August. The University of Michigan consumer sentiment index fell to 70.2 in August from 81.2 in July, its lowest level since 2011. Consumers feared that economic development could slow in the coming months , the university justified the decline. The hope of a weakening of the pandemic had been disappointed. In addition, the prices for imported goods in the USA rose less than expected in July, which could point to weaker price pressure overall. The data somewhat dampened expectations that the US Federal Reserve could soon give clearer signals for an exit from its very loose monetary policy. As a result, the dollar came under pressure against almost all major currencies.
Given the disappointing economic data, investors turned to gold. A troy ounce of the precious metal rose 1.4 percent to $ 1,777. In addition, concerns about the spread of the delta variant of the corona virus were reflected in the higher price, since gold is also used as a hedge.
Prices fell on the oil market. Here too, concerns about measures by leading industrialized countries against the delta variant came into focus. A barrel of the Brent variety from the North Sea was 1.5 percent cheaper to $ 70.27. In many industrialized countries, the number of corona infections is increasing and with it investors’ concerns about restrictions on mobility. That could lead to lower oil demand.