Dollar remains broadly higher after hitting 3-month peak

Investing.com - The dollar remained broadly higher against the other major currencies on Friday, after pulling back from a three-month peak fuelled by the U.K. surprise decision to leave the European Union in a historic referendum.

GBP/USD was down 6.46% at 1.3922, after plunging to a 30-year low of 1.3231 earlier Friday.

The pound broadly weakened after the U.K. voted by a substantial margin to leave the EU in a landmark referendum, with the Leave side winning 52% of the vote, against 48% to remain.

The Bank of England said Friday it would take all necessary steps to secure monetary and financial stability after the shock Brexit result.

"The Bank of England is monitoring developments closely," it said in a statement.

"It has undertaken extensive contingency planning and is working closely with HM Treasury, other domestic authorities and overseas central banks."

Shortly after the Brexit news, David Cameron said he will be standing down as U.K. Prime Minister before his Conservative Party's conference in October.

Finance ministers and central bank chiefs from the Group of Seven economic powers held a teleconference on Friday to discuss Britain's vote to leave the European Union.

The European Central Bank also commented on events, saying it is ready to handle the impact of Brexit on markets and the banking system.

EUR/USD plummeted 2.72% to 1.1073, off a four-month trough of 1.0913 hit overnight, while EUR/GBP surged 5.55% to 0.8071, after hitting a more than two-year high of 0.8316.

Earlier Friday, data showed that the German Ifo business climate index rose to 108.7 in June from 107.8 in May. Analysts had expected the index to hit 107.5 this month.

USD/JPY hit 99.03 overnight, the lowest since November 2013, before paring losses and settling at 102.48, last down 3.47%. GBP/JPY was down 10.97% at 140.66, after hitting three-and-a-half year a low of 133.30 earlier in the day.

Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said on Friday that Tokyo will respond as needed to "extremely nervous" exchange-rate moves, as the referendum result roiled markets.

Meanwhile, USD/CHF was up 1.88% at 0.9760 after the Swiss National Bank confirmed it was intervening in the foreign exchange market to weaken the currency.

The Australian and New Zealand dollars were sharply lower, with AUD/USD down 2.44% at 0.7434 and with NZD/USD tumbling 1.83% to 0.7116.

Elsewhere, USD/CAD rallied 1.64% to trade at 1.2985. The commodity currencies were hit by a more than 4% drop in oil prices, also sparked by the Brexit vote.

The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 2.64% at 95.80, after climbing to three-month high of 96.70 earlier Friday.

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In the U.S., data on Friday showed that durable goods orders fell 2.2% in May, compared to expectations for a 0.5% downtick and after a revised 3.3% increase the previous month.

Core durable goods orders, which excludes transportation items, slipped 0.3% last month, disappointing expectations for a 0.2% rise.