The US Dollar had edged higher after a combination of the latest upbeat economic news from the US contrasted with the ECB outlook. However, sentiment for the greenback shifted late in the trading day on Thursday and continued into the Asian trading session on Friday after US President Biden indicated that he intended to propose a steep rise in capital gains taxes for wage earners of more than $1 million. It was reported by the US Labor Department that new claims for jobless benefits for the period ended April 16th was less than analysts had predicted at 547,000. Continuing claims for benefits was slightly worse than expected, however, at 3.674 million against a forecast of 3.667 million.

In Tokyo trading as of 9:28 am, the USD/JPY was trading at 107.9300 Yen, down 0.06%, with the pair ranging from a low of 107.783 Yen to a high of 108.009 Yen. The GBP/USD pair was higher at $1.3844, a gain of 0.0217%, off the session peak of $1.38489 while the low was at $1.38297. The EUR/USD was higher at $1.2017, up 0.01%; the pair ranged from $1.20173 to $1.20232 in the session.

ECB's Dovish Outlook Holds

On Thursday, the most recent comments made by ECB officials suggested a continued dovish outlook, at least through early summer. While the monetary policy decision to keep interest rates at their current levels was largely expected, as was the amount of asset purchases, market players had been anxious to hear the accompanying statement. Some market players had hoped for clues to the timing of a reduction or even the cessation of the Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme, however no hints were forthcoming.