Economic data releases significantly impacted the FX markets with the UK, US and eurozone all releasing surprising figures, although the ongoing tension in the Middle East was still very much in investors' thoughts.

GBP
Sterling's strength against the euro has come as a surprise as eurozone data has been fairly solid while UK economic releases have been poor. This trend balanced out as the UK CPI rose while the German ZEW fell, giving solid explanations to the sterling's current strength.

USD
The dollar was pulled back by the sterling, although it peaked at near three-month highs versus the yen and euro. The gains were mainly due to good economic data releases which have been based on the greenback's status as a "safe haven" currency.

EUR
The EUR fell to near three-month lows against the dollar and four-week lows against the sterling as the German ZEW survey sank to a 14-month low. High oil prices and volatile equity markets this month depressed the sentiment for the seventh consecutive month.

JPY
After the increased interest rates last week and the hint that there will be no push for a second rise, there is little data to drive the yen. The release of the May tertiary index was ahead of expectations. Nevertheless, this could not stop the yen from falling to a three-month low against the dollar and a six-year low versus the sterling.

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