Trading 2016 and beyond

AUD/USD keeps the slightly bid bias around 0.7070 ahead of the opening bell in Asia. Indeed, the pair reverses two daily pullbacks in a row, meeting some initial contention around 0.7050 while investors gear up for the release of the RBA Minutes early on Tuesday.
 

The USD/JPY faces resistance near the 153.75 zone during the Asian session on Tuesday, stalling the previous day's positive move as divergent BoJ-Fed policy expectations offer some support to the Japanese Yen. That said, Japan's weak Q4 GDP print, released on Monday, tempered bets for an immediate BoJ rate hike. This, along with the underlying bullish sentiment, warrants caution for the JPY bulls and could act as a tailwind for the currency pair.

Gold remains depressed for the second consecutive day and trades below the $5,000 psychological mark during the Asian session on Tuesday, as a positive risk tone is seen undermining safe-haven assets. Meanwhile, bets for more interest rate cuts by the Fed keep a lid on the recent US Dollar bounce and act as a tailwind for the non-yielding bullion, warranting caution for bearish traders ahead of FOMC minutes on Wednesday.

The artificial intelligence (AI) cryptocurrency segment is witnessing heightened volatility, with top tokens such as Near Protocol (NEAR) struggling to gain traction amid the persistent decline in January and February.

The January CPI data give the impression that the Federal Reserve is finally winning the war against inflation. Not only was the data cooler than expected, but it’s also beginning to edge close to the mystical 2 percent target. CBS News called it “the best inflation news we've had in months.”

Major currency pairs traded little changed on Monday as stock and bond markets in the United States (US) remained closed due to the Presidents' Day holiday.