Pip Diddy

Profit-taking was the name of the game in Friday’s New York session, as higher-yielding currencies retreated against their safe-haven counterparts.

The forex trading week has come and gone. And pound domination was this week’s main theme, with Greenback strength, as well as weakness on the part of the yen and the Swissy as secondary themes. So, what was driving forex price action this week?

Volatility got sapped during today’s morning London session, with most currency pairs trapped in tight ranges. Directional movement was obviously in short supply, but the Greenback, the yen, and the Kiwi were showing some signs of movement.

Ho-hum. It was a pretty chill session for forex traders, as a lack of economic catalysts inspired tight ranges and commodity-related price action.

Hawkish Fed officials took the stage during the U.S. trading session, allowing the Greenback to squeeze out a few more gains against its counterparts.

The fallout from yesterday’s FOMC minutes can still be felt in today’s morning London session, causing another round of intense risk aversion which favored the safe-havens while pummeling the higher-yielders. The pound was marching to the beat of its own drummer, though.

Consolidation was the name of the game during the Asian session, as forex traders digested the FOMC meeting minutes and Australia’s jobs numbers.

All eyes and ears were on the FOMC minutes, which had traders buzzing about a June hike and spurred a lot of action among dollar pairs.

Trading conditions were relatively subdued during the morning London session, probably because forex traders were sitting on their hands while waiting for the FOMC meeting minutes to be released. The pound was clearly on the move, though.

The dollar clobbered its counterparts during the Asian session, as forex traders priced in a potentially hawkish FOMC minutes today.