FOREX TODAY: AHEAD OF THIS WEEK'S MAJOR EVENTS, MARKET ACTIVITY SLOWS DOWN

WHAT YOU NEED KNOW ON TUESDAY, APRIL 9 IS AS FOLLOWS:

Major currency pairings move in predictable ways early on retreat in anticipation of fresh stimulus. During the European session, the European Central Bank (ECB) will release the Bank Lending Survey data. The RealClearMarkets/TIPP Economic Optimism Index for April and the NFIB Business Optimism Index for March will be included in the US economic docket later in the day.

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics will release the March Consumer Price Index (CPI) data on Wednesday, while the European Central Bank (ECB) will announce decisions on Thursday.

The US Dollar (USD) Index slightly decreased on Monday during American trading hours, closing the day lower than it began. As the yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury bond dropped toward 4.4% after reaching a record high of 4.46% in November, Wall Street's major indexes ended the day virtually unchanged. In the European morning, the USD Index stays steady at 104.00, despite mixed activity in the US stock index futures.

THIS WEEK'S US DOLLAR EXCHANGE RATE

The US dollar's (USD) percentage movement compared to a list of major currencies for this week is displayed in the table below. In relation to the New Zealand Dollar, the US dollar was the weakest.

The major currencies' percentage movements relative to one another are displayed on the heat map. The quotation currency is selected from the top row, and the base currency is selected from the left column. For example, the percentage change shown in the box will indicate EUR (base)/JPY (quote) if you select the Euro from the left column and proceed along the horizontal line to the Japanese Yen.

The NZD/USD pair started the week and continued to rise, closing in on 0.6050 early on Tuesday. It is expected that the policy rate would remain at 5.5% during Wednesday's Asian trading hours by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand.

Australian data, which was made public on Tuesday, indicates that Westpac Consumer Confidence fell by 2.4% in April. The AUD/USD pair did not move in response to this data; it was last seen drifting sideways, slightly above 0.6600.

The USD/JPY trades close to 152.00, a fresh multi-decade high, in the early European session. Kazuao Ueda, the governor of the Bank of Japan (BoJ), warned on Tuesday that additional monetary support might be withheld if trend inflation quickens and gets closer to the 2% inflation target. Even still, the Japanese Yen failed to take off in spite of these statements.

After edging higher on Monday, the EUR/USD pair stabilized just over 1.0850 in the early hours of Tuesday.

On Monday, the GBP/USD pair saw slight increases and entered a consolidation period. The two were last observed varying in a small channel at around 1.2650.

After hitting a fresh all-time high above $2,350 on Monday, gold fell, but it ended the day slightly higher. XAU/USD is rather quiet during the European morning, fluctuating around $2,340.