Session Recap: Majors consolidate ahead of key events, RBA first

FXStreet (Córdoba) - The dollar advanced at the beginning of the American session following a batch of mixed US data and finally settled within narrow ranges versus most competitors.

EUR/USD failed to sustain European session’s gains and pulled back below 1.1200 before steadying at the 1.1180 area. GBP/USD bottomed out at 1.5350 and has spent the last hours hovering just above that level. USD/JPY managed to break above 120.00 for first time in nearly 3 weeks.

Commodity currencies also fell versus the big dollar, although AUD/USD managed to hold pretty steady above 0.7755 as investors gear up for the RBA meeting. Analysts’ consensus points to a 25 bps rate cut to 2.0% in March.

Elsewhere, gold ended down after being rejected from a 2-week high of $1,220 an ounce, while crude oil erased intraday gains and ended little changed above $50 a barrel.

US stocks extended gains and closed at record highs. The Nasdaq closed above 5,000 points for first time since 2000. The DJIA closed at a record high of 18,288, while the S&P 500 also scored its own record close at 2,117.