Forex Today: US Dollar holds steady to start week, eyes on central bank speak

Here is what you need to know on Monday, June 19:

The US Dollar (USD) holds steady early Monday after having suffered large losses against its major rivals last week. Stock and bond markets in the US will be closed in observance of the Juneteenth holiday. The European economic docket will not be featuring any high-impact data releases and market participants will pay close attention to comments from central bank officials.

The US Dollar Index (DXY) fell more than 1% and closed the third straight week in negative territory before going into a consolidation phase above 102.00 in the European session. The benchmark 10-year US Treasury bond yield fluctuated wildly following the Federal Reserve's (Fed) monetary policy announcements but ended the week little changed below 3.8%. 

On Sunday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang reportedly had "candid and constructive talks" on their differences from Taiwan to trade. Sides are said to have agreed on little beyond keeping the conversation going with an eventual meeting in Washington, reported Reuters.

EUR/USD gained nearly 200 pips last week, boosted by the broad-based USD weakness and the European Central Bank's (ECB) hawkish rhetoric. ECB Chief Economist Philip Lane and Governing Council member Isabelle Schnabel will be delivering speeches later in the day.  At the time of press, the pair was seen consolidating last week's gains slightly below 1.0950.

GBP/USD surged to its highest level since April 2022 at 1.2850 last week. The pair stays relatively quiet early Monday, moving up and down in a narrow range slightly above 1.2800. On Wednesday, the UK's Office for National Statistics will release inflation data for May ahead of the Bank of England's (BoE) monetary policy announcements on Thursday.

USD/JPY registered its highest weekly close since November as it failed to benefit from the USD's dismal performance. The resilience of the US T-bond yields and the Bank of Japan's (BoJ) dovish tone allowed the pair to gain traction in the second half of the week. USD/JPY was last seen moving sideways above 141.50.

Gold price closed the previous week virtually unchanged, slightly above $1,950. XAU/USD is having a difficult time finding direction early Monday.

AUD/USD edges lower but holds above 0.6850 in the European morning. The People's Bank of China (PBoC) is expected to announce a rate cut early Tuesday. 

USD/CAD fell below 1.3180 and touched its lowest level since September on Friday. The pair clings to small recovery gains at around 1.3200 on Monday.

Bitcoin fluctuated in a narrow channel over the weekend and extended its sideways action above $26,000 early Monday. Ethereum recovered from the three-month low it set at $1,620 mid-week last week and stabilized above $1,700.