FOREX TODAY: AHEAD OF US DATA ANNOUNCEMENTS, MARKETS ARE STILL ERRATIC.

WHAT YOU SHOULD BE AWARE OF ON TUESDAY, MARCH 26 IS AS FOLLOWS:

Early on Tuesday, major currency pairings move in very narrow ranges as traders avoid putting on big bets before US macroeconomic data is released. The Conference Board will release the Consumer Confidence report, while the American session's economic docket will include the February Durable Goods Orders and the January Housing Price Index. Additionally, market participants will continue to closely monitor any remarks made by representatives of the central bank.

The US Dollar (USD) saw difficulty finding buyers at the start of the week, as the USD Index reversed course after the previous week's surge. The major Wall Street indexes ended the day with slight losses, while the USD gained ground. Meanwhile, the US dollar was further supported as the benchmark 10-year US Treasury bond yield increased by 1% and ended a four-day losing run. Tuesday morning in Europe, the USD Index fluctuates within a small range just above 104.00, while futures on the US stock index move marginally higher for the day.

US DOLLAR EXCHANGE RATE FOR THIS WEEK

The US dollar's (USD) percentage movement compared to a list of major currencies for this week is displayed in the table below. In relation to the pound sterling, the US dollar was the weakest.

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 example, the percentage change shown in the box will indicate EUR (base)/JPY (quote) if you select the Euro from the left column and proceed along the horizontal line to the Japanese Yen.

The trimmed mean reading for core inflation was 2.3% in February, down from 2.6% in January, according to the Bank of Japan's (BoJ) Research and Statistics Department. This was much less than the peak of 3.4% in September of last year. Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki emphasized earlier in the day how crucial it is for currencies to move steadily in line with fundamentals and that they will continue to closely monitor foreign exchange movements with a strong sense of urgency. The USD/JPY pair maintained its sideways trend, closing just below 151.50 early on Tuesday, and finished the first trading day of the week essentially unchanged.

Profiting from the USD's weakness, EUR/USD ended Monday's trading session higher. At roughly 1.0850 in the European morning, the pair remains stable. Philip Lane, the chief economist of the European Central Bank (ECB), is expected to give a lecture later in the day.

After touching 1.2600 on Monday, the GBP/USD pair recovered, gaining 0.3% for the day. At the beginning of the European day, the pair trades at roughly 1.2650.

Monday saw gold go beyond $2,180, but it lost much of its daily gains as US T-bond yields increased. Early on Tuesday, XAU/USD continues its consolidation phase close to $2,170.