USD

The U.S. dollar did lose a lot of ground during the previous trading week. However, the USD is trading higher today versus a number of its peers. The GBP/USD pair has tumbled 0.51% to $1.5716. The AUD/USD pair is lower by 0.34% at $1.0392. Traders have taken it upon themselves to go bullish on the USD today, as it is slightly undervalued. Therefore, further gains may be a possibility this Monday.

EUR

The euro is rather mixed today. On one hand, it is higher versus the pound. On the other hand, the euro has slumped versus the dollar. The EUR/USD forex binary option is lower by 8 cents at $1.3444. Traders have sold the pair today, as the dollar is in great demand. This is not to say that the euro is weak. However, traders do feel that there are risks associated with it.

JPY

The yen is trading higher on all fronts this morning after a slump in Japanese socks. The USD/JPY pair is weaker today by 24 pips at 90.67 yen. Traders feel that now is the right time to buy into the Japanese currency, as it has been so oversold recently. It is true that the BOJ has been talking a lot about stimulus. However, this has not prevented the yen from surging.

There was an impressive rally earlier during the Asian trading session, as economies from the U.S. to China have published much positive economic data in the past several trading days.

As a result, investors have gained the confidence to open bullish positions in the leading stocks. Chinese industrial profits gained for a fourth straight month, showing the resilience of the Chinese economy.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained earlier today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average slumped 0.9%. South Korea’s Kospi Index lost 0.4%. Taiwan’s Taiex Index surged 0.6%. Singapore’s Straits Times Index jumped 0.2%. Hong Kong’s Heng Seng Index advanced 0.4%. China’s Shanghai Composite Index made gains of 2.4%.

Samsung Electronics Co. fell 3.2% to 1.372 million won. However, a number of other shares advanced during the Asian trading session.

Traders have a lot more confidence in global stock lately, which may give them the appetite to buy into U.S. shares today. Much will depend on the outcome of U.S. data.

Crude Oil

Crude oil futures climbed during Friday’s trading session. Traders were much more confident in the commodity as it has been offering very high returns lately.

Crude was higher a few hours ago. However, the commodity has since fallen 10 cents to the $95.79 level. Traders feel that it is time to sell crude oil, as the commodity has been a touch overvalued recently. The latest losses in the past hour are to a large extent owed to a resurgent dollar.

Investors are awaiting much U.S. data in the coming hours of trading before taking big risks. It is important to take into account that there is technical resistance, which is driving crude prices lower today. Therefore, this is very much on traders’ minds, hurting crude oil a lot due to some slight uncertainty.

EUR/USD

The EUR/USD pair is trading by 8 cents at $1.3445. Traders have decided to sell the pair in the most recent trading. The dollar lost a lot of ground versus the euro last week. However, traders have become more confident in the greenback today. This is largely due to traders waiting for the publication of data from the leading economies. This has led many traders to stay on the sidelines to see what happens.