Forex Today: US Dollar retreats, Gold renews record-high as markets await US data
Here is what you need to know on Wednesday, February 5:
After weakening against its major rivals on improving risk mood and disappointing US data on Tuesday, the US Dollar (USD) struggles to hold its ground early Wednesday. Later in the session, the US economic calendar will feature ADP Employment Change and ISM Services Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) data for January. Investors will continue to scrutinize comments from central bank officials throughout the day as well.
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 weakest against the Canadian Dollar.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | -0.34% | -0.79% | -1.07% | -2.66% | -0.91% | -1.35% | -1.27% | |
| EUR | 0.34% | -0.05% | 0.59% | -1.05% | -0.12% | 0.29% | 0.36% | |
| GBP | 0.79% | 0.05% | -0.46% | -1.00% | -0.06% | 0.34% | 0.41% | |
| JPY | 1.07% | -0.59% | 0.46% | -1.61% | 0.30% | 0.65% | 0.43% | |
| CAD | 2.66% | 1.05% | 1.00% | 1.61% | 0.69% | 1.35% | 1.43% | |
| AUD | 0.91% | 0.12% | 0.06% | -0.30% | -0.69% | 0.40% | 0.47% | |
| NZD | 1.35% | -0.29% | -0.34% | -0.65% | -1.35% | -0.40% | 0.08% | |
| CHF | 1.27% | -0.36% | -0.41% | -0.43% | -1.43% | -0.47% | -0.08% |
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).
The USD Index lost about 0.4% on Tuesday after the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that JOLTS Job Openings declined to 7.6 million in December, falling short of the market expectation of 8 million. Additionally, Wall Street's main indexes gained traction after the opening bell, pointing to a positive shift in market mood that didn't allow the USD to stage a rebound. Early Wednesday, however, US stock index futures trade in negative territory.
During the Asian trading hours on Wednesday, the US Customs and Border Protection issued a notice on, noting that additional US tariffs of 10% will apply to Hong Kong as well as mainland China. Meanwhile, the data from China showed that the Caixin Services PMI declined to 51 in January from 52.2 in December.
EUR/USD benefited from the broad USD weakness and registered daily gains on Tuesday. The pair clings to small daily gains but stays below 1.0400 in the European morning on Wednesday. Eurostat will publish Producer Price Index data for December later in the session.
Japan's Economy Minister Ryosei Akazawa noted on Wednesday that the government’s focus is to eradicate Japan's deflationary mindset. “With an ambitious goal to boost minimum wages, the government is trying to eradicate deflationary mindset,” he added. USD/JPY stays under heavy bearish pressure to begin the European session and trades at its lowest level since mid-December near 153.00.
GBP/USD closed in positive territory for the second consecutive day on Tuesday. The pair stays relatively quiet and fluctuates in a tight channel below 1.2500 in the European morning on Wednesday.
The Unemployment Rate in New Zealand rose to 5.1% in the fourth-quarter from 4.8% in the third quarter, Statistics New Zealand reported on Wednesday. This reading came in line with the market expectation and failed to trigger a noticeable market reaction. At the time of press, NZD/USD was trading marginally higher on the day, above 0.5650.
Gold preserves its bullish momentum and trades at a new all-time high above $2,860. Escalating geopolitical tensions after US President Donald Trump proposed resettling Palestinians in neighboring countries seem to be fuelling XAU/USD's rally.
Gold FAQs
Gold has played a key role in human’s history as it has been widely used as a store of value and medium of exchange. Currently, apart from its shine and usage for jewelry, the precious metal is widely seen as a safe-haven asset, meaning that it is considered a good investment during turbulent times. Gold is also widely seen as a hedge against inflation and against depreciating currencies as it doesn’t rely on any specific issuer or government.
Central banks are the biggest Gold holders. In their aim to support their currencies in turbulent times, central banks tend to diversify their reserves and buy Gold to improve the perceived strength of the economy and the currency. High Gold reserves can be a source of trust for a country’s solvency. Central banks added 1,136 tonnes of Gold worth around $70 billion to their reserves in 2022, according to data from the World Gold Council. This is the highest yearly purchase since records began. Central banks from emerging economies such as China, India and Turkey are quickly increasing their Gold reserves.
Gold has an inverse correlation with the US Dollar and US Treasuries, which are both major reserve and safe-haven assets. When the Dollar depreciates, Gold tends to rise, enabling investors and central banks to diversify their assets in turbulent times. Gold is also inversely correlated with risk assets. A rally in the stock market tends to weaken Gold price, while sell-offs in riskier markets tend to favor the precious metal.
The price can move due to a wide range of factors. Geopolitical instability or fears of a deep recession can quickly make Gold price escalate due to its safe-haven status. As a yield-less asset, Gold tends to rise with lower interest rates, while higher cost of money usually weighs down on the yellow metal. Still, most moves depend on how the US Dollar (USD) behaves as the asset is priced in dollars (XAU/USD). A strong Dollar tends to keep the price of Gold controlled, whereas a weaker Dollar is likely to push Gold prices up.