Anna 
Financial markets experienced a relatively slow pace during the European morning on Tuesday, with the US Dollar Index holding steady just below the 103.00 mark. The US Dollar posted modest gains on Monday, and the 10-year US Treasury bond yield fluctuated around 4.1%. Investors are gearing up for the release of the February Consumer Price Index (CPI) data.
The cautious market sentiment, coupled with the absence of high-tier data releases, contributed to the resilience of the USD against its counterparts at the beginning of the week. The US CPI data for February is anticipated to show an annual inflation rate holding steady at 3.1%, while the Core CPI is expected to rise 3.7%, slightly down from the 3.9% recorded in January.
US stock index futures indicated a positive shift in risk sentiment, with gains ranging between 0.2% and 0.6% in the early European session.
In other developments, Bank of Japan (BoJ) Governor Kazuo Ueda conveyed that the BoJ aims to exit from negative rates, yield curve control, and other large-scale monetary easing steps once they achieve 2% inflation “stably and sustainably in sight.” Meanwhile, the Japanese Yen showed resilience after six consecutive negative trading days, with USD/JPY turning north in the Asian session.
The National Australia Bank’s Business Confidence Index declined to 0 in February, while the Business Conditions Index improved to 10 from 7. The Australian Dollar stabilized as the ASX 200 rose, awaiting further cues from the US CPI data.
GBP/USD faced challenges early Tuesday, trading in a narrow channel around 1.2800. The UK’s Office for National Statistics reported a rise in the ILO Unemployment Rate to 3.9%, along with a decrease of 21K in Employment Change. Wage inflation, measured by Average Earnings Excluding Bonus, ticked down to 6.1% from 6.2%.
EUR/USD registered small losses for the second consecutive trading day on Monday but showed signs of a modest recovery early Tuesday, hovering below 1.0950.
Gold struggled to gather momentum and remained in a consolidation phase during the European morning, trading marginally lower below $2,180.
