Asian session review: the US dollar declined slightly against the major currencies

During today's Asian trading, the US dollar consolidated against the euro, and fell against the pound and the yen.

Last week, the euro rose against the dollar to the highest level in 7 weeks, which, in particular, was supported by the eurozone PMI data published on Friday. Since the beginning of the year, the euro has lost 1.3% against the dollar, but since the beginning of April, the euro has increased by 3%.

Meanwhile, the yen is supported by the demand for safe haven assets against the background of the introduction of an emergency regime in Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and Hyogo.

Meanwhile, Japan's index of leading economic indicators rose to 98.7 points in February from 98.1 points a month earlier. This is the maximum value of the indicator since October 2018. However, preliminary data indicated a greater increase in the indicator - up to 99.7 points.

The ICE Dollar index, which shows the value of the US dollar against six major world currencies, fell by 0.10%. Last week, it posted its third consecutive weekly decline.

This week, traders are waiting for the outcome of the two-day meeting of the US Federal Reserve (Fed), which starts tomorrow. Analysts predict that the Fed will maintain the parameters of monetary policy. However, they believe that the regulator is under increasing pressure.

"As inflation is likely to approach 4% in May and prove to be more resilient than the Fed publicly acknowledges, we believe the Fed may begin to scale back asset purchases before the end of this year," ING experts said.