This is what you need to know to trade today Thursday February 16:
The US dollar (USD) remains in a consolidation phase early on Thursday, having outperformed its main rivals on Wednesday. Market sentiment remains mixed in the early hours of the European session as investors await mid-level US data releases, including Initial Weekly Unemployment Claims, Housing Starts in January and Producer Price Index. Market participants will also pay close attention to comments from central bank officials.
On Wednesday, the US Census Bureau reported that January Retail Sales increased 3% after the contraction of 1.1% in December. This data exceeded market expectations, which expected a 1.8% increase, and helped the US dollar maintain its strength in the second half of the day. Later in the American session, however, the main Wall Street indices managed to gain traction and did not allow the DXY Dollar Index to extend its rebound. US stock index futures are trading virtually unchanged in European morning Thursday.
Meanwhile, the benchmark 10-year US Treasury yield took advantage of Tuesday’s gains and rose more than 1% on Wednesday. After breaching the 3.8% level during the Asian session, the 10-year yield has started to decline, losing 0.6% to 3.78%.
During the Asian session on Thursday, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that the unemployment rate had risen to 3.7% in January from 3.5% in December. The Change in Employment in the same period came in at -11,500, compared to market expectations of +20,000, which has weighed on the Aussie. However, having dipped below 0.6870, the pair AUD/USD it has staged a rebound and is now trading modestly higher at 0.915.
He USD/JPY closed on Wednesday for the third time in a row in positive territory and touched its highest level since early January at 134.35. The pair is relatively quiet in the early hours of Thursday and is trading around 134.00. A Japanese lawmaker said on Thursday that the country’s lower house of parliament will hold a Confirmation hearing of government candidates for Bank of Japan (BoJ) governor and deputies on February 24.
On Wednesday, during her appearance before the European Parliament, the President of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde reiterated her intention to raise key rates by 50 basis points (bp) at the March monetary policy meeting. He EUR/USD he ignored this comment and ended the day with a loss of 50 pips. As of early Thursday, the pair is stable around 1.0700.
He GBP/USD suffered heavy losses following weak UK inflation data on Wednesday, but managed to hold above the key 1.2000 level. The pair consolidates its losses slightly below 1.2050 on Thursday’s European morning.
He gold price It fell to its lowest level in more than a month at $1,830 on Wednesday, pressured by rising US Treasury yields. XAU/USD is struggling to gain momentum early Thursday and is trading in a tight range below $1,840.
He Bitcoin It rose almost 10% on Wednesday and hit its highest level since August near $25,000. Although BTC/USD pulls back modestly early Thursday, it is holding on to modest daily gains around $24,500. Similarly, the ethereum it rose 8% on Wednesday before stabilizing near $1,700 on Thursday.
Source: Fx Street
I am Joshua Winder, a senior-level journalist and editor at World Stock Market. I specialize in covering news related to the stock market and economic trends. With more than 8 years of experience in this field, I have become an expert in financial reporting.
