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Forex Today: Cautious start to the week ahead of US Treasury note auctions

Here is what you need to know on Monday, February 26:

The US Dollar (USD) Index fluctuates in a narrow range at around 104.00 after snapping a five-week winning streak. January New Home Sales Change will be the only data featured in the US economic docket on Monday. Later in the day, European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde will be delivering a speech and the US Treasury will hold 2-year and 5-year note auctions.

Wall Street's main indexes ended the previous week on a mixed note as the risk rally seen earlier in the week lost its steam. Early Monday, US stock index futures trade modestly lower on the day, reflecting a cautious market stance. The benchmark 10-year US Treasury bond yield stays slightly below 4.25% after declining nearly 2% on Friday. Tuesday's economic calendar will offer US January Durable Goods Orders and Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index data for February. 

US Dollar price today

The table below shows the percentage change of US Dollar (USD) against listed major currencies today. US Dollar was the strongest against the New Zealand Dollar.

 USDEURGBPCADAUDJPYNZDCHF
USD -0.04%0.05%0.02%0.14%-0.08%0.25%-0.03%
EUR0.04% 0.07%0.06%0.19%-0.04%0.30%0.00%
GBP-0.04%-0.08% -0.02%0.10%-0.11%0.21%-0.08%
CAD-0.02%-0.06%0.03% 0.13%-0.11%0.23%-0.06%
AUD-0.16%-0.19%-0.10%-0.13% -0.22%0.11%-0.18%
JPY0.08%0.03%0.17%0.09%0.22% 0.33%0.03%
NZD-0.26%-0.31%-0.22%-0.24%-0.11%-0.33% -0.30%
CHF0.03%0.00%0.07%0.06%0.19%-0.05%0.30% 

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).

USD/JPY stabilized above 150.00 in the second half of the previous week and registered gains for the fourth consecutive week. The pair stays quiet at around 150.50 in the early European morning on Monday. In the Asian session on Tuesday, January National Consumer Price Index (CPI) data from Japan will be watched closely by market participants.

Japanese Yen bears not ready to give up yet amid reduced bets for a BoJ policy shift.

Following the sharp upsurge seen on Thursday, EUR/USD lost its bullish momentum. Nevertheless, the pair settled above 1.0800 and went into a consolidation phase. ECB President Lagarde will participate in plenary debate in the European Parliament on the ECB Annual Report 2022.

GBP/USD registered gains for four consecutive days and rose 0.6% in the previous week. The pair fluctuates in a narrow channel slightly above 1.2650 early Monday. Bank of England (BoE) Chief Economist Huw Pill will speak later in the day.

AUD/USD rose 0.5% last week and stabilized at around 0.6550. In the Asian session on Wednesday, monthly CPI data for January from Australia will be watched closely by market participants. Meanwhile, NZD/USD trades on the back foot and retreats toward 0.6150 early Monday after having met resistance near 0.6200 on Friday. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand will announce monetary policy decisions on Wednesday.

Australian Dollar stabilizes after intraday losses amid a stable US Dollar.

Gold benefited from falling US yields ahead of the weekend and rose 0.55% on Friday. XAU/USD stays in a consolidation phase slightly above $2,030 early Monday.

Gold price keeps the red below two-week peak amid delayed Fed rate cut bets.

Author

Eren Sengezer

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.

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