Forex Today: US Dollar Index stays steady amid mixed market signals

The US Dollar Index traded in a tight range below 102.00 on Thursday, after rebounding on Wednesday. The market was relatively quiet in the early hours, and the US economic docket featured weekly Initial Jobless Claims and Challenger Job Cuts data, along with a speech by St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard on the economy and monetary policy. 

Additionally, Statistics Canada released the March jobs report. US bond markets closed early ahead of the Easter holiday on Friday, and trading activity was subdued later in the day.

Despite the release of disappointing macroeconomic data from the US, the US Dollar remained resilient against its counterparts due to growing concerns over an economic slowdown. In early European trading, US stock index futures traded mixed, while the 10-year US Treasury bond yield remained in negative territory below 3.3%.

China’s Caixin Services PMI improved to 57.8 in March from 55 in February, surpassing market expectations of 54 during the Asian trading hours. However, the data failed to trigger a noticeable market reaction.

The EUR/USD pair fluctuated in a narrow range slightly above 1.0900, while the GBP/USD pair closed in negative territory after facing resistance at 1.2500 on Wednesday. The pair, however, saw a modest recovery but stayed below 1.2500. 

The data from the UK showed that Halifax House Prices rose by 0.8% on a monthly basis in March, beating market expectations of a decrease of 0.3%.

The Unemployment Rate in Canada was forecast to tick up to 5.1% in March, with Net Change in Employment expected to arrive at +12K following February’s 21.8K increase. USD/CAD held steady slightly below 1.3500 ahead of this key data.

USD/JPY closed in the red for the third straight day on Wednesday, pressured by falling US T-bond yields. At the time of writing, the pair was flat on the day slightly below 131.50. In the early Asian session on Friday, Leading Economic Index and Coincident Index data for February will be featured in the Japanese economic docket.

Gold prices lost their traction on Wednesday but closed the day virtually unchanged, supported by retreating yields. XAU/USD stayed in a consolidation phase below $2,020 on Thursday.

Bitcoin struggled to find direction and closed flat on Wednesday, while Ethereum extended its rally and touched its highest level since August near $1,950 before staging a technical correction. As of writing, ETH/USD was down more than 1% on the day at $1,880.

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