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.

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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.

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