Forex Today: US Dollar stabilizes ahead of key data releases
|Here is what you need to know on Friday, March 24:
The US Dollar seems to have found its footing late Thursday following a pullback witnessed in Wall Street's main indexes, Early Friday, the US Dollar Index stays relatively quiet ahead of February Durable Goods Orders and S&P Global's preliminary Manufacturing and Services PMI surveys for March. S&P Global will also release the PMI surveys for Germany, the UK and the Eurozone on Friday. Canadian economic docket will feature Retail Sales for January.
Following the sharp decline witnessed on Wednesday, the benchmark 10-year US Treasury bond yield fluctuated below 3.5% on Thursday and closed the day virtually unchanged. Early Friday, the 10-year yield edges lower toward 3.4%. Durable Goods Orders in the US are forecast to rise by 0.6% in February following January's 4.5% decrease.
During the Asian trading hours, a spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Commerce spokesperson said China does not seek to engineer a trade surplus with the US. Meanwhile, Reuters reported that the Beijing office of Mintz Group, a US corporate due diligence firm, was raided by authorities and five Chinese staff were detained. Nevertheless, US stock index futures trade modestly higher on the day.
The data from Japan showed early Friday that the National Consumer Price Index declined to 3.3% on a yearly basis in February from 4.3% in January. This reading came in much lower than the market expectation of 4.1%. USD/JPY, however, is having a difficult time gathering bullish momentum and was last seen trading in negative territory at around 130.50.
GBP/USD fluctuates below 1.2300 in the European morning. The UK's Office for National Statistics reported on Friday that Retail Sales in February rose by 1.2%, compared to the market expectation for an increase of 0.2%, but failed to provide a boost to Pound Sterling. On Thursday, the Bank of England (BOE) announced that it raised its policy rate by 25 basis points to 4.25%.
After having reached its highest level since early February above 1.0900 on Thursday, EUR/USD reversed its direction and ended up closing the day in the red below 1.0850. The pair stays relatively quiet at around 1.0830 early Friday. The PMI surveys from the Euro area are expected to point to a modest expansion in the private sector's business activity in early March.
AUD/USD moves up and down in a tight channel below 0.6700 on Friday. The data from Australia revealed that S&P Global Composite PMI declined to 48.1% in early March from 50.6 in February.
For the second time this week on Thursday, Gold price climbed above $2,000. XAU/USD seems to have gone into a consolidation phase on Friday and was last seen trading modestly lower on the day at around $1,890.
Bitcoin gained nearly 4% on Thursday and erased all of Wednesday's gains. BTC/USD was last seen moving sideways near $28,300. Ethereum rose 4.5% on Thursday and reclaimed $1,800 before stabilizing slightly above that level early Friday.
SEC issues alert, states crypto service providers may not be complying with US laws.
Terraform Labs founder Do Kwon arrested in Montenegro – Interior minister.
Information on these pages contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Markets and instruments profiled on this page are for informational purposes only and should not in any way come across as a recommendation to buy or sell in these assets. You should do your own thorough research before making any investment decisions. FXStreet does not in any way guarantee that this information is free from mistakes, errors, or material misstatements. It also does not guarantee that this information is of a timely nature. Investing in Open Markets involves a great deal of risk, including the loss of all or a portion of your investment, as well as emotional distress. All risks, losses and costs associated with investing, including total loss of principal, are your responsibility. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of FXStreet nor its advertisers.