Forex Today: Markets turn quiet, eyes on US 10-year note auction

Eren Sengezer FXStreet

Here is what you need to know on Wednesday, February 9:

Major currency pairs continue to fluctuate in relatively tight ranges mid-week amid a lack of high-tier data releases and fundamental drivers. The US Dollar Index is moving sideways near 95.50 after posting small gains on Tuesday and investors await the 10-year US Treasury note auction ahead of Thursday's critical inflation data.

The market mood remains upbeat in the early European session with US stock index futures rising between 0.3% and 0.5%. The benchmark 10-year US T-bond yield, which climbed to its highest level since August 2019 at 1.97% on Tuesday, is down more than 1% at 1.94% early Wednesday.

Easing concerns over a military conflict between Russia and Ukraine seem to be allowing risk flows to remain in control of markets. Crude oil prices continue to edge lower and the barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) is posting small losses near $89.50 after losing more than 2% on Tuesday. On a separate note, Bloomberg reported earlier in the day that China fell over 33% short of its purchase commitments for goods in the Phase-1 trade deal with the US.

EUR/USD briefly dipped below 1.1400 on Tuesday but managed to end the day above that level. There won't be any high-tier macroeconomic data releases from the euro area and the pair is likely to stay in a consolidation phase.

GBP/USD closed virtually unchanged on Tuesday and continues to move sideways near 1.3550 heading into the European session on Wednesday.

AUD/USD continues to inch higher and trades above 0.7150 after closing the first two trading days of the week in the positive territory. The data from Australia showed that the Westpac Consumer Confidence improved to -1.3% in February from -2% in January.

Gold stretched higher and now trades at its strongest level in two weeks above $1,820.

USD/JPY seems to have lost its bullish momentum near 115.50 after gaining 50 pips on Tuesday. Retreating US Treasury bond yields are limiting the pair's upside.

Bitcoin rose above $45,000 for the first time in more than a month on Tuesday but erased a large portion of its daily gains before closing at $44,000. At the time of press, BTC/USD was down modestly at $43,700. Ethereum snapped a five-day winning streak on Tuesday but continues to trade above $3,000.

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.

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