Here is what you need to know on Tuesday, August 19:
The trading action in financial markets remains subdued early Tuesday following a quiet beginning to the week. Later in the day, Housing Starts and Building Permits data for July will be featured in the US economic calendar. Additionally, investors will pay close attention to Consumer Price Index (CPI) figures from Canada.
The US Dollar (USD) Index, which tracks the USD's performance against a basket of six major currencies, closed in positive territory on Monday. Meanwhile, Wall Street's main indexes ended the day virtually unchanged as investors assessed the headlines coming out of the meeting between United States (US) President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
US Dollar PRICE This week
The table below shows the percentage change of US Dollar (USD) against listed major currencies this week. US Dollar was the strongest against the Australian Dollar.
The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the US Dollar from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the Japanese Yen, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent USD (base)/JPY (quote).
Zelenskyy said that they have discussed security guarantees for Ukraine with Trump and European leaders, adding that they are ready to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Early Tuesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed that they will work with European allies and non-European countries on providing security guarantees for Ukraine. In the European morning on Tuesday, US stock index futures lose about 0.2%, pointing to a cautious market mood, while the USD Index holds steady at around 98.00.
The data from Australia showed that Westpac Consumer Confidence improved to 5.7% in August from 0.6% in July. AUD/USD struggles to benefit from the upbeat data and trades slightly below 0.6500 in the European morning on Tuesday.
The Producer Price Index in New Zealand rose by 0.6% on a quarterly basis in the second quarter. This print followed the 2.9% increase recorded in the first quarter and came in below the market expectation of 1.4%. In the early trading hours of the Asian session on Wednesday, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand will announce monetary policy decisions. NZD/USD holds steady above 0.5900 ahead of this key event.
After posting small losses on Monday, USD/CAD moves sideways near 1.3800 in the European morning on Tuesday. Annual CPI inflation in Canada is forecast to soften to 1.7% in July from 1.9% in June.
EUR/USD lost about 0.4% on Monday and continued to edge lower in the early Asian session on Tuesday. After dropping to 1.1640, EUR/USD staged a rebound and was last seen trading near 1.1680.
Following a bearish start to the week, GBP/USD touched a weekly low below 1.3500 early Tuesday. The pair corrects higher in the European morning and trades at around 1.3520.
USD/JPY finds it difficult to build on Monday's gains and trades marginally lower on the day below 147.70. In the early trading hours of the Asian session on Wednesday, Merchandise Trade Balance data for July will be featured in the Japanese economic calendar.
Gold recovered slightly on Monday but lost its traction to end the day flat. XAU/USD moves sideways below $3,350 in the European morning on Tuesday.
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