Continuing claims were at the highest level since November 2021, a sign that workers are having trouble finding new positions after they are laid off.

The dollar index (DXY00) today is up +0.35% at a 3.5-week high. Signs of strength in the US economy may keep the Fed from cutting interest rates and are supportive of the dollar. Weekly initial unemployment claims unexpectedly fell to a 3-month low,

London stocks ended higher on Thursday, buoyed by growing investor expectations of a Bank of England rate cut next month following recent soft UK labour market data.

U.S. retail sales rebounded more than expected in June, suggesting a modest improvement in economic activity and giving the Federal Reserve cover to delay cutting interest rates while it gauges the inflation fallout from import tariffs.

Pre-market futures are flat this morning, again without much direction from outside influences. We’ve passed the 90-day tariff “deadline” with no ramifications; in fact, major indexes were up across the board,

The GBP/USD drops during the North American session, edges down 0.07% following the release of strong US economic data that boosted the Greenback which hit a new July high as it recovers some ground at the beginning of the second half. At the time of writing, the pair trades at 1.3408.

U.S. retail sales rebounded more than expected in June, suggesting the economy was regaining momentum and giving the Federal Reserve cover to delay cutting interest rates while it gauges the inflation fallout from import tariffs.

US Dollar Index firms as yields hold, jobless claims beat forecasts, and traders eye DXY’s test of 97.899 pivot for a potential push toward 98.900.