There were conflicting reports whether the government present the Withdrawal Bill to parliament again next week.

The US dollar pushed to fresh 22-month highs on solid durable goods data before correcting slightly as commodity currencies secured a tentative recovery.

Euro sentiment remained weak with EUR/USD recovering only marginally from 23-month lows below 1.1120.

The yen gained from expectations of short covering ahead of next week’s Japanese holidays.

Brent briefly hit 5-month highs as Russian shipments to Europe were blocked, before retreating as oil prices overall corrected lower.

The Swedish krona declined sharply after a dovish shift in forward guidance by the Riksbank with the central bank not expecting another rate hike until at least late 2019. Precious metals secured a limited recovery as selling pressure eased slightly.

The UK CBI retail sales survey strengthened sharply to 13 for April from -18 the previous month and this was the first positive reading for five months and companies were also optimistic over the outlook for May.

There were conflicting reports whether the government present the Withdrawal Bill to parliament again next week with some sources indicating that Prime Minister May wanted to re-introduce the legislation as soon as possible. Sterling was unable to gain significant traction with markets demanding positive developments before any fresh commitment to the currency.

A further bout of US strength pushed GBP/USD to lows below 1.2870 before a tentative recovery to the 1.2900 area while GBP/EUR rising slightly to the 1.1590 area. Lower oil prices limited Sterling support, although moves were limited with markets wary of sharper currency moves next week given potentially important political and economic events.

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