Forex Today: Slow start to the week

Valeria Bednarik FXStreet

What you need to take care of on Tuesday, February 21:

The week started in slow motion amid the United States celebrating President’s Day. The absence of relevant macroeconomic releases helped majors to trade within tight intraday ranges.

In the meantime, the market sentiment is sour. Tensions between the United States and China over the balloons shots earlier this month continue as US top diplomat Anthony Blinken said Beijing's actions were irresponsible, while Chinese officials responded US reaction was "hysterical." Meanwhile, North Korea fired an intercontinental ballistic missile on Saturday that landed in the Sea of Japan. Finally, US President Joe Biden unexpectedly visited Kyiv to announce additional weapons supplies.

EUR/USD trades around 1.0680, limited by softer-than-anticipated EU data. GBP/USD hovers around 1.2040, unchanged for the day.

Commodity-linked currencies advanced vs their American rival. AUD/USD trades around 0.6910, while USD/CAD is down to 1.3450. The USD/JPY pair is ending the day unchanged at 134.20.

Crude oil prices posted a modest intraday advance, with WTI currently trading at $77.70 a barrel. Gold peaked at $1,847.45, but finished the day around $1,841.

On Tuesday, the focus will be on the preliminary estimates of the February S&P Global PMIs for major economies.

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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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