Forex Today: Big central bank week starts quietly

Eren Sengezer FXStreet

Here is what you need to know on Monday, September 18:

Financial markets stay relatively calm to begin the new week as investors gear up for big central bank policy meetings this week. The economic docket will not feature any high-tier data releases on Monday. The People's Bank of China and the Federal Reserve will announce interest rate decisions on Wednesday, followed by the Swiss National Bank, the Bank of England and the Bank of Japan.

After posting gains for the ninth straight week, the US Dollar Index edges lower early Monday. Meanwhile, US stock index futures trade modestly higher and the 10-year US Treasury bond yield holds steady above 4.3%.

US Dollar price today

The table below shows the percentage change of US Dollar (USD) against listed major currencies today. US Dollar was the weakest against the Japanese Yen.

	USD	EUR	GBP	CAD	AUD	JPY	NZD	CHF
USD		0.02%	0.03%	-0.08%	-0.01%	-0.15%	-0.12%	-0.03%
EUR	-0.04%		0.00%	-0.13%	-0.04%	-0.19%	-0.15%	-0.05%
GBP	-0.03%	0.00%		-0.13%	-0.04%	-0.21%	-0.15%	-0.07%
CAD	0.09%	0.11%	0.11%		0.06%	-0.08%	-0.03%	0.06%
AUD	0.01%	0.05%	0.05%	-0.07%		-0.16%	-0.11%	-0.02%
JPY	0.14%	0.15%	0.18%	0.08%	0.14%		0.02%	0.12%
NZD	0.11%	0.14%	0.15%	0.03%	0.11%	-0.05%		0.10%
CHF	0.01%	0.03%	0.05%	-0.06%	0.01%	-0.15%	-0.10%

The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the Euro from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the Japanese Yen, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent EUR (base)/JPY (quote).

Following the sharp decline witnessed after the European Central Bank's (ECB) policy decisions last week, EUR/USD stays in a consolidation phase above 1.0650 in the early European session. Germany's Bundesbank is scheduled to release its monthly report later in the day.

GBP/USD registered a daily close below 1.2400 for the first time since late May on Friday. The pair clings to small recover gains near that level early Monday. Ahead of the BoE's policy decisions on Thursday, the UK Office for National Statistics will publish Consumer Price Index (CPI) data on Wednesday.

AUD/USD holds steady at around 0.6450 following the previous week's choppy action. In the early trading hours of the Asian session on Tuesday, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will release the minutes of the August policy meeting, at which officials decided to leave the cash rate unchanged at 4.1%.

NZD/USD trades in positive territory above 0.5900 early Monday. The inflation outlook for the year ending March 2024 has been revised higher. The New Zealand Institute of Economic Research (NZIER) unveiled revised economic projections early in the day and said that the annual CPI inflation is forecast to ease to 4.3% in the year ending March 2024 before decreasing to 2.4% in 2025.

USD/JPY came under modest bearish pressure early Monday and retreated to the 147.50 area.

Gold price staged a decisive rebound on Friday and erased all of its weekly losses. Early Monday, XAU/USD holds its ground and trades in positive territory near $1,930 amid retreating US yields.

Author

Eren Sengezer

FXStreet

As an economist at heart, Eren Sengezer specializes in the assessment of the short-term and long-term impacts of macroeconomic data, central bank policies and political developments on financial assets.

AUD/USD falls to near 0.7100 after slipping below 50-day EMA

AUD/USD depreciates after registering minor gains in the previous day, trading around 0.7120 during the Asian hours. The technical analysis of the daily chart shows the pair consolidating sideways within a rectangle pattern, as neither bulls nor bears gain control. The AUD/USD pair is holding a slight bearish tone however as it sits beneath both the nine-day and 50-day EMAs.

160.00: USD/JPY back near intervention territory after upbeat US jobs report

US Nonfarm Payrolls beat expectations by a wide margin in May, with 172K jobs added. The US Dollar rebounds after the release, helping USD/JPY recover from its intraday lows. Warnings from Japanese authorities continue to limit upside potential near the 160.00 threshold.

Gold weakens to three-month lows near $4,300

Gold faces increasing selling interest and approaches the area of three-month lows near the $4,300 mark per troy ounce on Friday. The precious metal’s decline comes as traders assess the stronger-than-expected NFP, while the bid bias in the Greenback and higher US Treasury yields also collaborate with the retracement.

Cardano hits five-year low even as Hoskinson clarifies "break" isn't an exit

Cardano (ADA) price is down 10% at press time on Friday, extending losses over 30% so far this week amid Charles Hoskinson's clarification that "break" isn't an exit.

Week ahead – Fed countdown begins amid US inflation data and geopolitical risks

Fed Chair Warsh’s first meeting approaches as key US inflation data could reshape expectations. Oil prices remain elevated as US-Iran talks continue; tariffs also return to the spotlight. ECB is expected to hike; will it be a one-off move or is July live?

The US economy defies the rules: 100 days into the Oil shock and the recession signal is still missing

More than three months after the start of the Iran war and the resulting disruption to global energy markets, the US economy continues to display remarkable resilience. The conflict has triggered a sharp rise in Oil prices, reignited inflationary pressures and fueled widespread concerns about a potential economic slowdown.