As the world deals with the fallout of shutdowns, some places are starting to ease restrictions with a view of returning to some sort of normal.

The USD strengthened on Friday, sending paired currencies down to end the week. The EURUSD began Friday at $1.09480 and edged up to a high of $1.09535 early in the day. The pair fell from that point, hitting a low of $1.08860 as it headed into late trading. It has come off those lows slightly and is now trading at $1.08987. The GBPUSD opened at $1.22141 and lifted to a high of $1.22332 early in the day before falling away to lows of $1.21604 mid-session. It stayed near those lows for the rest of the session and is now trading at $1.21847.

The Dow opened and closed rather flat but looked in trouble halfway through the day. The index began the day at 24425.85 and nudged up to a high of 24,555.09 early in the day. It tumbled to lows of 24,153.05 mid-session before rebounding and regaining most of those losses, closing at 24,509.08. It is not far off that at the moment, currently trading at 24,512.00. The Dax followed the Dow’s lead on Friday after starting the day at 11,084.11. The German index fell throughout early trading, eventually hitting lows of 10,859.08 mid-session. It bounced off those lows, hitting high of 11,137.55 late in the day. It is not far off those highs and is now trading at 11,120.24.

The coronavirus has not only caused a health crisis, but it has decimated economies worldwide. However, against the backdrop of the health and economic devastation, some countries are beginning to ease restrictions in the hope of eventually returning back to normal. The easing of restrictions is now seen as a way to help head off another potential health crisis – one caused by people being locked up and without a job, while bills and expenses continue to mount.

On the data front and the most crucial piece of information to be published is the Prelim GDP data from the US. The release on Thursday night is expected to show a contraction of 4.8% for the quarter. But, due to the extent of the economic upheaval caused over the last few months, who knows how accurate the data is.

Data published today and the most important this week includes:

Today – German Final GDP and Ifo Business Climate, Belgian NBB Business Climate

Tuesday – ECB Financial Stability Review

Wednesday – US CB Consumer Confidence, RBNZ Financial Stability Report, BoC Governor Stephen Poloz speaks

Thursday – US Prelim GDP, Unemployment Claims, Durable & Core Durable Goods Orders, Australian Private Capital Expenditure

Friday – US Pending Home Sales, Canadian GDP, Fed Chair Jerome Powell speaks

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