|

Forex Today: Oil surge, USD dip to welcome global traders’ return from Easter recess

  • Global markets will be in full form after Easter break.
  • British lawmakers to return to the UK parliament and may renew Brexit fears.
  • Economic calendar could also entertain momentum traders.

Asian traders can pick rising crude oil prices and the US Dollar (USD) weakness as their starting points when they resume work after Good Friday and Easter Monday holidays.

On Monday, some of the global bourses like China, Japan and the US were open when the news broke that the US is likely to tighten its grip over Iran by trying to cut the Middle East nation’s oil exports to zero. The Trump administration isn’t likely to renew previous waivers given to eight Iran oil importing countries. Energy traders reacted to the news and fuelled the WTI to fresh highs after October 31, 2018.

Elsewhere, soft prints of the US existing home sales and the Chicago Fed National Activity Index dragged the greenback down. However, speculations about China to push the breaks on its huge stimulus measured did negatively affect the Dollars of Australia and New Zealand.

The British Pound (GBP) also couldn’t take advantage of the USD weakness as news reports spread that Tories are ready to oust the British PM Theresa May if she fails to resign by June.

In the case of equities, Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) trimmed 48 points to close around 26,512 with 0.20% losses while S&P500 and Nasdaq were in greens with 0.10% and 0.22% gains respectively.

Global risk sentiment was also a bit brighter as the US 10-year treasury yields grew nearly 3 basis points to 2.587%.

Looking forward, the return of most global traders from the Easter recess is likely offering active markets today. On the economic calendar, New Zealand credit card spending, Canadian wholesale sales, the US housing price index, new home sales, Richmond Fed manufacturing index and the API crude oil stock to join Eurozone consumer confidence.

Additionally, the UK lawmakers will return to the British parliaments after a long break and with many proposals on hand. As a result, Brexit will also regain its importance.

Key Notes:

Wall Street mixed in dull start to the week

US Dollar Index Technical Analysis: DXY bulls are away on Easter holiday

Oil Technical Analysis: WTI hovering below $66.00 a barrel as Asian markets open

NZD/USD seesaws around 0.6680 as traders return after a long weekend

Author

Anil Panchal

Anil Panchal

FXStreet

Anil Panchal has nearly 15 years of experience in tracking financial markets. With a keen interest in macroeconomics, Anil aptly tracks global news/updates and stays well-informed about the global financial moves and their implications.

More from Anil Panchal
Share:

Markets move fast. We move first.

Orange Juice Newsletter brings you expert driven insights - not headlines. Every day on your inbox.

By subscribing you agree to our Terms and conditions.

Editor's Picks

EUR/USD bounces toward 1.1750 as US Dollar loses strength

EUR/USD returned to the 1.1750 price zone in the American session on Friday, despite falling Wall Street, which indicates risk aversion. Trading conditions remain thin following the New Year holiday and ahead of the weekend, with the focus shifting to US employment and European data scheduled for next week.

GBP/USD nears 1.3500, holds within familiar levels

After testing 1.3400 on the last day of 2025, GBP/USD managed to stage a rebound. Nevertheless, the pair finds it difficult to gather momentum and trades with modest intraday gains at around 1.3490 as market participants remain in holiday mood.

Gold trims intraday gains, approaches $4,300

Gold retreated sharply from the $4,400  area and trades flat for the day in the $4,320 price zone. Choppy trading conditions exacerbated the intraday decline, although XAU/USD bearish case is out of the picture, considering growing expectations for a dovish Fed and persistent geopolitical tensions.

Cardano gains early New Year momentum, bulls target falling wedge breakout

Cardano kicks off the New Year on a positive note and is extending gains, trading above $0.36 at the time of writing on Friday. Improving on-chain and derivatives data point to growing bullish interest, while the technical outlook keeps an upside breakout in focus.

Economic outlook 2026-2027 in advanced countries: Solidity test

After a year marked by global economic resilience and ending on a note of optimism, 2026 looks promising and could be a year of solid economic performance. In our baseline scenario, we expect most of the supportive factors at work in 2025 to continue to play a role in 2026.

Crypto market outlook for 2026

Year 2025 was volatile, as crypto often is.  Among positive catalysts were favourable regulatory changes in the U.S., rise of Digital Asset Treasuries (DAT), adoption of AI and tokenization of Real-World-Assets (RWA).