FOREX TODAY: AS INTERNATIONAL TENSIONS RISE, GOLD REACHES AN ALL-TIME HIGH.

What you need know on Monday, December 4 is as follows:

During the weekly opening, the price of gold surged to a new high close to $2,150 as markets responded to growing geopolitical unrest in the Middle East. The US economic docket on Monday will only include data pertaining to October factory orders. Investors will still be closely monitoring headlines related to the conflict between Israel and Hamas as well as remarks made by central bankers.

Three commercial ships were attacked by Houthi rebels in Yemen on Sunday in the Red Sea. In retaliation, a US warship shot down three drones. The US military's Central Command stated in a statement following the incident that they have “every reason to believe that these attacks, while launched by the Houthis in Yemen, are fully enabled by Iran.” The Houthi movement in Yemen, meantime, admitted that they had attacked two Israeli ships and claimed that they were acting in response to requests from Islamic countries to support the Palestinian people.

US stock index futures are down in the early European session, reflecting the risk-averse nature of the market environment. The US Dollar (USD) Index found support just above 103.00 after seeing minor losses the week before.

THE CURRENT US DOLLAR PRICE

The US dollar's (USD) percentage change compared to a list of major currencies is displayed in the table below. When compared against the New Zealand dollar, the US dollar was the strongest.

The major currencies' percentage movements relative to one another are displayed on the heat map. The quotation currency is selected from the top row, and the base currency is selected from the left column. For instance, if you select the Euro in the left column and then drag the cursor over to the Japanese Yen, the EUR (base)/JPY percentage change will be shown in the box.

Gold fell during Asian trading hours after reaching a fresh record high. As of the time of writing, XAU/USD was trading at $2,080, up 0.5% for the day.

After falling to a new two-week bottom of 1.0828 on Friday, EUR/USD was able to turn around and move back above 1.0900 before the weekend. The pair moves in and out of a narrow zone over 1.0850 early on Monday. Later in the day, a number of ECB policymakers, including President Christine Lagarde, are expected to give speeches.

The GBP/USD pair ended the previous week on the upswing before entering a consolidation phase early on Monday, below 1.2700.

Monday's Asian trading hours saw the USD/JPY drop to a multi-month low around 146.30, but it later rose over 146.50 in the early European session. Japan's Tokyo Consumer Price Index (CPI) statistics will be made public on Tuesday.

Friday saw the first decline in the USD/CAD pair in two months as Statistics Canada revealed that November's Net Change in Employment was +24.9K, above the market's estimate of 15K. As a result of declining crude oil prices, the Canadian dollar struggled to hold onto its strength, and at the beginning of the week, USD/CAD broke over 1.3500.