Forex Today: Optimism spikes likely to be short-lived

Valeria Bednarik FXStreet

What you need to take care of on Friday, March 25:

The American dollar finished the day mostly lower across the FX board, although it managed to keep advancing versus the Japanese yen, with USD/JPY hitting a fresh multi-year high of 122.40.

The EUR/USD pair is still struggling with the 1.1000 threshold, unable to extend gains beyond the level. GBP/USD settled around 1.3180, while commodity-linked currencies keep advancing against their American rival. AUD/USD topped at 0.7527 while USD/CAD bottomed at 1.2509.

US President Joe Biden and European NATO counterparts are preparing for the risk of Moscow launching a nuclear attack. They have also discussed assisting Ukraine with anti-ship missiles and clarified that any gold transaction involving Russia's central bank is subject to existing sanctions. The headline boosted the bright metal, which surged to a fresh weekly high of $1,966.14 a troy ounce, ending the day nearby.

Crude oil prices, on the other hand, consolidated their recent gains, ending the day little changed. WTI trades at around $113.20 a barrel at the time being.

French President Emmanuel Macron later announced that there had been no decision on penalties against Russian oil, gas, and coal. US President Joe Biden said he believes Russia should be removed from the G-20.

Meanwhile, the number of new coronavirus cases, blamed on the Omicron BA.2 variant, are on the rise in Germany, the UK, France and Italy, the top European countries suffering from this new wave. So far, no restrictive measures have been put in place, but on the contrary, the latest of restrictions is being lifted.

Top 3 Price Prediction Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple: Cryptos on the front foot as rebound turns into new uptrend

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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 flirts with daily highs, retargets 1.1900

EUR/USD regains upside traction, returning to the 1.1880 zone and refocusing its attention to the key 1.1900 barrier. The pair’s slight gains comes against the backdrop of a humble decline in the US Dollar as investors continue to assess the latest US CPI readings and the potential Fed’s rate path.

GBP/USD remains well bid around 1.3650

GBP/USD maintains its upside momentum in place, hovering around daily highs near 1.3650 and setting aside part of the recent three-day drop. Cable’s improved sentiment comes on the back of the Greenback’s irresolute price action, while recent hawkish comments from the BoE’s Pill also collaborate with the uptick.

Gold clings to gains just above $5,000/oz

Gold is reclaiming part of the ground lost on Wednesday’s marked decline, as bargain-hunters keep piling up and lifting prices past the key $5,000 per troy ounce. The precious metal’s move higher is also underpinned by the slight pullback in the US Dollar and declining US Treasury yields across the curve.

Crypto Today: Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP in choppy price action, weighed down by falling institutional interest

Bitcoin's upside remains largely constrained amid weak technicals and declining institutional interest. Ethereum trades sideways above $1,900 support with the upside capped below $2,000 amid ETF outflows.

Week ahead – Data blitz, Fed Minutes and RBNZ decision in the spotlight

US GDP and PCE inflation are main highlights, plus the Fed minutes. UK and Japan have busy calendars too with focus on CPI. Flash PMIs for February will also be doing the rounds. RBNZ meets, is unlikely to follow RBA’s hawkish path.

Ripple Price Forecast: XRP potential bottom could be in sight

Ripple edges up above the intraday low of $1.35 at the time of writing on Friday amid mixed price actions across the crypto market. The remittance token failed to hold support at $1.40 the previous day, reflecting risk-off sentiment amid a decline in retail and institutional sentiment.