Using fractals to weed out bad trade ideas

EUR/USD keeps its bearish momentum well in place, slipping back to the area of 1.1850 to hit daily lows on Monday. The pair’s continuation of the leg lower comes amid decent gains in the US Dollar in a context of scarce volatility and thin trade conditions due to the inactivity in the US markets.

GBP/USD kicks off a new week on a subdued note and oscillates in a narrow range near 1.3650 on Monday. The mixed fundamental backdrop warrants some caution for aggressive traders as the market focus now shifts to this week's important data releases from the UK and the US.

Gold started the week under bearish pressure and declined to the $4,960 area before staging a modest rebound. As trading volumes remain thin with the US financial markets remaining closed on Presidents' Day holiday, XAU/USD looks to stabilize above $5,000 ahead of this week's key data releases.

Bitcoin price has consolidated between $65,700 and $72,000 over the past nine days, with no clear directional bias. US-listed spot ETFs recorded a $359.91 million weekly outflow, marking the fourth consecutive week of withdrawals.

It is likely to be a quiet start to the week, with US markets closed on Monday for Presidents Day. European markets are higher across the board and gold is clinging to the $5,000 level after the tamer than expected CPI report in the US reduced haven flows to precious metals.

Major currency pairs trade in familiar ranges to start the week as investors stay on the sidelines ahead of this week's key events and macroeconomic data releases. The European economic calendar will feature Industrial Production data for December on Monday. Stock and bond markets in the US will remain closed in observance of the Presidents Day holiday.