Forex Today: Steady start to the week ahead of key data releases

Here is what you need to know on Monday, April 24:

Major currency pairs continue to fluctuate in familiar ranges early Monday following the previous week's choppy action. IFO sentiment survey for April from Germany will be released during the European trading hours. Later in the day, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago's National Activity Index will be featured in the US economic docket. Ahead of this week's high-tier data releases, Monday's trading action is likely to remain subdued.

Despite the stronger-than-expected S&P Global Manufacturing and Services PMI readings from the US, the US Dollar struggled to outperform its rivals ahead of the weekend. The US Dollar Index ended the week virtually unchanged and extended its sideways grind slightly below 102.00 early Monday. Meanwhile, US stock index futures trade in negative territory and the benchmark 10-year US Treasury bond yield stays in the red below 3.6%, pointing to a cautious market stance. 

EUR/USD edged higher toward 1.1000 during the Asian trading hours on Monday but failed to gather further bullish momentum. In an interview with the Financial Times (FT) on Monday, Pierre Wunsch, the European Central Bank’s (ECB) Governing Council member, said that he expects the ECB to continue raising interest rates until wage growth slows.

After falling toward 1.2350 on Friday, GBP/USD managed to erase its daily losses and closed above 1.2400. The pair continues to move up and down in a narrow channel above that level in the European morning on Monday.

USD/JPY is having a difficult time finding direction while moving sideways at around 134.00. The Sankei newspaper over the weekend Sunday that the Bank of Japan (BoJ) is planning to review and inspect policies taken over the past decades, kicking off discussions at a two-day meeting scheduled for April 27 and 28 under newly-appointed Governor Kazuo Ueda.

Gold price fell sharply on Friday as sellers took action following numerous failed attempts to reclaim $2,000 last week. XAU/USD stays under modest bearish pressure and trades below $1,980 early Monday.

Bitcoin edged lower over the weekend and ended up losing more than 9% on a weekly basis. Early Monday, BTC/USD trades at around $27,500. Following Friday's steep decline, Ethereum stayed relatively quiet over the weekend but snapped a three-week winning streak, losing more than 12%. In the European Morning on Monday, ETH/USD trades modestly lower on the day near $1,850.