British pound inches higher after UK retail data
The British pound rose slightly against the US dollar on Friday, following the release of robust economic data.
The data showed that the UK retail sales index rose 1.2% during October, beating forecasts of a drop by 0.3%.
The public sector net borrowing reached 21.6 billion pounds, better than forecasts of $31.6 billion.
The American company "Pfizer" and the German firm "BioNTech" announced on Wednesday that the clinical trials on their Covid-19 vaccine showed it was 95% effective.
AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford announced Covid-19 vaccine has shown a strong immune response in the cases that received their vaccinations.
As of 21:20 GMT, GBP/USD rose 0.2% to 1.3282, after hitting a high of 1.3296, and a low of 1.3246.
Brent keeps gains, eyes weekly profit
Oil prices rose on Friday, but the US crude trimmed its early gains, while Brent kept rising.
Leaders of the Republican and Democratic parties resumed negotiations about the second Covid fiscal stimulus package.
However, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that his team is looking to end several support programs that were aimed at small and medium businesses.
Baker Hughes will report later today the count of US oil and natural gas rigs for this week.
The dollar index rose against a basket of major currencies by 0.1% to 92.4 points as of 17:46 GMT, after hitting a high of 92.4 points and a low of 92.2 points.
WTI crude December futures rose 0.1% to $41.7 a barrel, after hitting a high of $42.1 and a low of $41.5.
Brent January futures rose 0.7% to $44.5 a barrel, after hitting a high of $44.7 and a low of $44.05.
Dollar edges up amid focus on US Treasury's decision
The US dollar turned higher against most of its peers on Friday, shining as a safe haven amid broad anticipation of the US Treasury Secretary's decision about the stimulus programs.
The US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that his team is looking to end several support programs that were aimed at small and medium businesses.
Leaders of the Republican and Democratic parties resumed negotiations about the second Covid fiscal stimulus package.
The number of Covid-19 infections jumped in the US at a record pace, as data from Johns Hopkins University revealed that the average daily number of infections reached 165,000 recently.
Subsequently, the markets are awaiting the license for the launch of the Covid-19 vaccines that were announced by Pfizer, BioNtech, and Moderna.
The dollar index rose against a basket of major currencies by 0.1% to 92.4 points as of 19:56 GMT, after hitting a high of 92.4 points and a low of 92.2 points.