Sterling plummets while Dollar tries, and.....>

FOREX: Sterling plummets while Dollar tries, and fails, to break the 200-dma

-The greenback rose for the eighth time in the past nine sessions, lifting the

index to fresh three month highs. Nonetheless, the 200-dma at 91.991 remained in

tact as an attempt on the level failed, prompting a reversal of most of the

day's USD gains.

-Sterling was, by a distance, the poorest performer as GDP growth fell well

below forecast. As MNI's Data team highlighted, the economic weakness happened

alongside, and not because of, the poor weather conditions, hurting sterling

further as chances of a May rate hike dwindled materially.

-Commodity-tied currencies fared slightly better as a moderation of USD strength

took some of the downside pressure off energy and metals prices. As a result,

CAD, AUD and NZD rose modestly against most others.

-After a week of weakness, the JPY strengthened slightly as recent US equity

strength abated Friday.

-Next week, holidays across Asia may dim volumes, but attention will, as always,

remain on the US jobs report Friday.