This is what you need to know to trade today monday february 20:
US stock and bond markets will be closed on Monday for the Presidents Day holiday and trading activity is expected to remain subdued, especially in the second half of the day. The Bundesbank will report its monthly publication and the European Commission will publish the preliminary consumer confidence index February.
The events of the weekend appear to have sparked a escalation of geopolitical tensionsbut the impact on risk sentiment remains subdued in the European morning.
Reportedly, The US and Taiwan could sign a bilateral trade agreement ahead of schedule this year, following the “dismal” meeting between China’s Director of the Office of the Central Commission on Foreign Affairs, Wang Yi, and US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, in Germany. Meanwhile, the Japanese Ministry of Defense has stated that North Korea had fired two ballistic missiles and the Japanese Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, has requested a meeting of the United Nations Security Council.
During the Asian session, New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Grant Robertson reiterated that the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) has the responsibility to deal with inflation. The RBNZ will announce its monetary policy decision on Wednesday and it is expected to increase its rate by 50 basis points up to 4.75%. Meanwhile, the pair NZD/USD It is trading in a tight range around 0.6250 early Monday, having posted losses for the third week in a row last week.
He USD/JPYwhich gained almost 300 pips last week, remains in a consolidation phase near 134.00 in the European morning.
After last week’s fall, the pair AUD/USD It is trading slightly higher around 0.6900. In the early hours of the Asian session on Tuesday, S&P Global manufacturing and services PMI data will feature on the Australian economic calendar and the Reserve Bank of Australia will publish its meeting minutes.
He EUR/USD it staged a rebound late on Friday and ended up closing the previous week virtually unchanged. The pair is trading in a tight range early on Monday and is trading at a pace of 1.0700.
He GBP/USD managed to end the week slightly above the key 1.2000 level. The pair remains stable around 1.2050 at the beginning of the week. In the absence of top-tier publications, markets will closely follow news related to the Brexit.
The price of gold it lost more than 1% last week, pressured by rising US Treasury yields. XAU/USD is quiet early Monday and is trading above $1,840.
He Bitcoin it failed to move decisively in either direction over the weekend, but posted its highest weekly close since June above $24,000. BTC/USD rises early Monday and is now trading near $24,500, up 1% on the day. He ethereum it closed in negative territory on Saturday and Sunday, but has managed to regain its traction at the start of the week. At time of writing, ETH/USD is up 1% on the day and stands near $1,700.
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.
