Forex Today: Fear at the start of the week

Valeria Bednarik FXStreet

What you need to know on Tuesday, August 17:

The dollar posted uneven gains against high-yielding rivals but edged lower against safe-haven ones as risk-aversion dominated financial markets at the beginning of the week. Poor Chinese data, tensions in the Middle East, the spread of the Delta coronavirus variant in the US and soft macroeconomic data, were behind the sour mood.

The EUR/USD pair retreated just modestly from around 1.1800 to settle around 1.1770, while GBP/USD stabilized around 1.3840/50. Commodity-linked currencies suffered the most, despite a late Wall Street bounce and fresh highs in gold.

US indexes opened with sharp losses, trimming them throughout the day. The DJIA and the S&P reached fresh all-time highs. On the other hand, US Treasury yields fell amid higher bonds prices.

Gold advanced, ending the day at $1,787 a troy ounce. Crude oil prices bounced from daily lows but still finished the day in the red, with WTI currently trading at $67.10 a barrel.

The macroeconomic calendar was scarce, with the focus on US Retail Sales, to be out on Tuesday. A dismal number could further spur risk-aversion.

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Author

Valeria Bednarik

FXStreet

Valeria Bednarik was born and lives in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Her passion for math and numbers pushed her into studying economics in her younger years.

EUR/USD risks a deeper drop below 1.1750

EUR/USD keeps its vacillating mood in place as the the NA session drwas to a close on Tuesday, hovering below the 1.1800 hurdle amid acceptable gains in the US Dollar. In the meantime, market participants and the FX galaxy are expected to closely follow President Trump’s SOTU speech around 2AM GMT.

GBP/USD regains 1.3500 and above

GBP/USD extends its advance for the third day in a row on Tuesday, this time retesting the area beyond the 1.3500 hurdle. Cable’s uptick comes despite decent gains in the Greenback and the dovish message from the BoE’s Bailey at the UK Parliament.

Gold appears offered around $5,150

Gold is giving back a good portion of the recent multi-day rally, receding to the $5,150 zone per troy ounce amid the decent bounce in the US Dollar and mixed US Treasuty yields. In the meantime, markets’ attention remain on upcoming comments from Fed speakers.

Ripple’s DeFi shift in focus: Navigating XRPL EVM sidechain growth, XRPFi migration and liquidity

Ripple (XRP) has continued to trade under pressure, extending its decline by approximately 63% from the record high of $3.66 in July. The remittance token is trading above support at $1.35, while its upside appears limited by key supply zones, starting with $1.40, at the time of writing on Tuesday.

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XRP pressured by weak ETF flows and declining retail interest

Ripple (XRP) is edging lower, trading above its intraday low of $1.32 at the time of writing on Tuesday. The decline from its weekly opening of $1.39 reflects heightened volatility in the broader cryptocurrency market, accentuated by tariff-triggered uncertainty.