FOREX TODAY: AS THE NEW WEEK BEGINS, THE MARKET IS FEELING BETTER

ON MONDAY, APRIL 22, YOU SHOULD BE AWARE OF THE FOLLOWING:

The US stock index futures had a solid start to the week, suggesting that the market's perception of risk has changed. The preliminary April Consumer Confidence numbers will be released by the European Commission on Monday, along with a speech by the president of the European Central Bank (ECB). No significant data releases on the US economic docket are scheduled.

Despite a relatively quiet weekend for news on the Iran-Israel conflict, investors remain optimistic about averting a worsening of the situation in the Middle East. As of publishing, US stock index futures were up 0.4% to 0.6%. The benchmark yield on 10-year US Treasury bonds is still fluctuating around 4.6%, but the US Dollar (USD) Index is still steady at 106.00.

THE VALUE OF THE US DOLLAR OVER THE PREVIOUS WEEK

The table below shows the percentage change in US dollars (USD) over the last seven days relative to a list of major currencies. In this transaction, the US dollar performed better than the Japanese yen.

The heat map shows the percentage fluctuations of the major currencies in relation to each other. The base currency is chosen from the left column, and the quotation currency is chosen from the top row. For instance, if you choose the Euro in the left column and go down the horizontal line to the Japanese Yen, the percentage change displayed in the box will be EUR (base)/JPY (quote).

During Asian trading hours, the People's Bank of China (PBoC) announced that the one-year and five-year loan prime rates, respectively, have remained at 3.45% and 3.95%. On Friday, China's Commerce Ministry announced that it has decided to impose a 43.5% tariff on propionic acid imports from the United States. Propionic acid is frequently used in food, feed, pesticides, and pharmaceuticals.

The AUD/USD pair rose to the 0.6450 range during the weekly opening in reaction to news concerning China before slightly falling. The April Judo Bank Manufacturing and Services PMI numbers will be released early on Tuesday during the Asian session.

The Swiss National Bank (SNB) announced early on Monday that it was raising the minimum reserve requirements for banks from 2.5% to 4%. The USD/CHF pair, which was last seen trading little higher on the day above 0.9100, mostly disregarded this headline.

At the close of the previous week, there was not much of a shift in EUR/USD. In Europe, the pair is still stable over 1.0650 on Monday morning. The GBP/USD pair saw bearish pressure during the American session on Friday, closing the week weaker after breaking below 1.2400. The pair stays in a consolidation phase throughout the early European session around 1.2350.

Although gold had slight daily gains on Friday, it closed the week below $2,400. XAU/USD saw a technical correction on Monday; as of the previous observation, it had dropped more than 1% of its value below $2,360.

The USD/JPY moves on Monday within a rather small range below 155.00. On Friday, the Bank of Japan will publish its monetary policy.