FOREX TODAY: IMPORTANT INFLATION DATA MIGHT SET OFF THE NEXT MAJOR EVENT

What you should be aware of on Thursday, February 29 is as follows:

During Wednesday's American trading hours, the US dollar and US Treasury bond, early on Thursday, attention turns to the January data for the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index—the USD Index (DXY) remains below 104.00. Market players eagerly observing preliminary February Consumer Price Index (CPI) data from Germany and the fourth-quarter GDP report from Canada.

The US Treasury bonds, which fell by almost 1%, now ranges between 4.25 and 4.3% in the morning hours of Europe. US stock index futures flat following Wednesday's slightly lower closing closure for Wall Street's primary indexes. The US Core PCE inflation rate is expected to increase by 0.4% each month. The US economic docket will also include data on January's personal spending, income, pending home sales, and weekly initial claims for unemployment. Lastly, the second half of the day will feature speeches from a number of Fed policymakers.

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 Japanese Yen, 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 dollar/yuan fell sharply during the Asian session on Thursday, breaking below 150.00 for the first time in more than a week. Bank of Japan (BoJ) board member Hajime Takata stated that the momentum in the spring wage talks is increasing and that a high rate of wage hikes would lead to ongoing expectations of rising household income. Regarding the policy outlook, Takata stated that they should think about adopting a flexible response, which could involve removing monetary stimulus. He went on to say that he is not considering raising interest rates one after the other.

According to figures from Australia, retail sales increased by 1.1% on a monthly basis in January after declining by 2.7% in December. The Australian dollar (AUD/USD) recovered early on Thursday after dropping more than 0.7% on Wednesday. It was last seen trading over 0.6500.

After contracting by 1.1% in the previous quarter, the Canadian economy is predicted to increase at an annual rate of 0.8% in the fourth quarter. The USD/CAD had a downward reversal after reaching its highest level since mid-December at 1.3606, and it was last seen trading flat for the day at roughly 1.3570.

After hitting a weekly low of less than 1.0800 on Wednesday, the EUR/USD bounced back and ended. Early on Thursday, the pair moves in a narrow channel below 1.0850. According to data released by Germany's Destatis, retail sales fell by 0.4% on a monthly basis in January, far less than the 0.5% growth that the market had anticipated.

On Wednesday, the GBP/USD pair ended a six-day winning run. The consolidation phase on Thursday morning in Europe below 1.2700.

US rates' decline on Wednesday helped gold, which saw slight increases. Just below $2,040, XAU/USD is trading close to the top end of its short-term range.