Forex Today: Major currency pairs stay in familiar ranges ahead of US data

Here is what you need to know on Tuesday, August 29:

Trading action remains subdued early Tuesday and major currency pairs continue to fluctuate in familiar ranges. June Housing Price Index will be the first data releases of the day from the US. Later in the American session, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics' JOLTS Job Openings data for July and the Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index for August will be watched closely by market participants.

The positive shift seen in risk sentiment made it difficult for the US Dollar to gather strength in the second half of the day on Monday and the USD Index (DXY) closed in negative territory. In the European morning on Tuesday, DXY holds steady at around 104.00. Wall Street's main indexes gained more than 0.5% on Monday and US stock index futures were last seen posting small daily gains. Meanwhile, the 10-year US Treasury bond yield stays on the back foot below 4.2% after falling nearly 1% on Monday.

During the Asian trading hours, the data from Japan revealed that the Unemployment Rate edged higher to 2.7% in July from 2.5% in June. In the meantime, "Japan has seen price and wage rises broaden since the spring of 2022,” the Japanese government said in its annual economic white paper. “Such changes suggest the economy is reaching a turning point in its 25-year battle with deflation," the publication further read. USD/JPY showed no reaction to these comments and extended its sideways grind around 146.50.

EUR/USD registered small gains on Monday and continued to edge higher early Tuesday. The pair, however, seems to be struggling to gather bullish momentum while trading below 1.0850.

GBP/USD gained traction in the European session and advanced toward 1.2650. Following the long weekend, the UK's FTSE 100 Index opened more than 1% higher on Tuesday, pointing to an improving risk mood.

AUD/USD preserved its recovery momentum following Monday's advanced and climbed above 0.6450. Supported by the risk-positive market atmosphere, NZD/USD rose toward 0.5950 following Monday's choppy action.

Gold price closed modestly higher on Monday and continued to push higher amid retreating US yields early Tuesday. At the time of press, XAU/USD was trading in the green near $1,925.

Bitcoin and Ethereum both remain directionless early this week, moving sideways in tight ranges near $26,000 and $1,650, respectively.