FOREX TODAY: IN THE MIDST OF THE US HOLIDAY WEEKEND, MARKETS ARE MOVING SLOWLY.

WHAT YOU NEED KNOW ON MONDAY, FEBRUARY 19 IS AS FOLLOWS:

Early on Monday, major currency pairings trade close to the closing levels of the previous week. The US markets will be closed on Presidents' Day, and there won't be any high-impact data releases on the economic calendar. The Monthly Report of the Bundesbank of Germany is expected to be released during European trading hours.

Early on Friday morning in the American trading day, the US Dollar gained momentum following the release of data by the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicating that the January increase in the Producer Price Index (PPI) was faster than anticipated. But week-end flows and profit-taking made it hard for the USD to keep beating its competitors before the weekend. Despite ending the previous week in positive territory, the USD Index begins Monday's trading day somewhat lower but still maintains a comfortable level above 104.00. In the meantime, the yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury note increased by 2.5% to close at 4.3%, the highest level since November.

THE US DOLLAR'S VALUE DURING THE PAST WEEK

The US Dollar (USD) percentage movement versus a list of major currencies over the last seven days is displayed in the table below. The US dollar outperformed the Swiss franc in terms of strength.

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.

China's central bank, the People's Bank of China (PBOC), declared that it had maintained the one-year Medium-term Lending Facility (MLF) rate at 2.50% as anticipated. There was no discernible market reaction to this move. During European trading hours, the value of AUD/USD gradually increased. It was last spotted trading at 0.6550, up 0.2% for the day.

Following a decline below 1.0750 on Friday, the EUR/USD pair reversed course and ended the day flat. The pair extends its upward movement early on Monday, but it remains below 1.0800.

Although the GBP/USD pair finished the previous week slightly lower, it had no trouble staying over 1.2600. The pair rises somewhat in the early European session, approaching 1.2630.

According to the Nikkei newspaper, Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki stated over the weekend that interest rates will probably eventually start to rise and have an impact on the economy in a number of ways. The USD/JPY fell marginally below 150.00 at the beginning of the new week, despite mild bearish pressure.

Earlier in the week, Gold fell below $2,000; however, it recovered and erased most of its weekly losses to close close to $2,000. At the start of the new week, XAU/USD continues to rise; it was last seen trading at over $2,020.