Here is what you need to know on Monday, April 21:
The US Dollar (USD) comes under renewed selling pressure after ending the previous week on a quiet note. Growing concerns over an economic downturn in the US and questions about the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) independency weigh on the currency. Many international markets, including France, Germany and the UK, will remain shut in observance of Easter Monday but stock and bond markets in the US will operate at regular hours. The economic calendar will not feature any high-tier data releases.
US Dollar PRICE Today
The table below shows the percentage change of US Dollar (USD) against listed major currencies today. US Dollar was the weakest against the New Zealand Dollar.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | -1.05% | -0.66% | -1.00% | -0.37% | -0.61% | -1.21% | -0.97% | |
| EUR | 1.05% | 0.24% | 0.06% | 0.64% | 0.25% | -0.19% | 0.06% | |
| GBP | 0.66% | -0.24% | -0.02% | 0.41% | 0.00% | -0.43% | -0.19% | |
| JPY | 1.00% | -0.06% | 0.02% | 0.61% | 0.24% | -0.12% | 0.04% | |
| CAD | 0.37% | -0.64% | -0.41% | -0.61% | -0.36% | -0.84% | -0.58% | |
| AUD | 0.61% | -0.25% | -0.00% | -0.24% | 0.36% | -0.43% | -0.19% | |
| NZD | 1.21% | 0.19% | 0.43% | 0.12% | 0.84% | 0.43% | 0.28% | |
| CHF | 0.97% | -0.06% | 0.19% | -0.04% | 0.58% | 0.19% | -0.28% |
The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the US Dollar from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the Japanese Yen, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent USD (base)/JPY (quote).
While speaking to reporters late Friday, White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said President Donald Trump and his team were continuing to study if firing Fed Chairman Jerome Powell was an option in a way that it wasn’t before. Meanwhile, citing several people familiar with the matter, the Financial Times reported early Monday that Chinese state-backed funds were cutting off new investment in US private equity, as the next step in the escalating trade conflict. After ending the previous week marginally lower, the USD Index extends its slide early Monday and trades at its weakest level since April 2022 below 98.50, losing more than 1% on the day. In the meantime, US stock index futures started the week on a bearish note and were last seen losing between 0.8% and 0.9%.
In the Asian session on Monday, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), China’s central bank, announced that it left the one-year and five-year Loan Prime Rates (LPRs) unchanged at 3.10% and 3.60%, respectively.
Following Thursday short-lasting correction, Gold gathers bullish momentum on safe-haven flows and climbs toward $3,400 on Monday, renewing its record-high in the process.
After ending the previous week with small gains, EUR/USD extends its uptrend early Monday and trades at its strongest level since November 2021 above 1.1500. Citing three sources familiar with the matter, Reuters reported on Monday that the European Union (EU) is contemplating options to alter its methane emissions rules, making it easier for the US to comply with its gas exports.
GBP/USD gains traction in on Monday and trades at its highest level since September at around 1.3400.
USD/JPY loses more than 1% on the day and trades near 140.70 in the European morning on Monday.
US-China Trade War FAQs
Generally speaking, a trade war is an economic conflict between two or more countries due to extreme protectionism on one end. It implies the creation of trade barriers, such as tariffs, which result in counter-barriers, escalating import costs, and hence the cost of living.
An economic conflict between the United States (US) and China began early in 2018, when President Donald Trump set trade barriers on China, claiming unfair commercial practices and intellectual property theft from the Asian giant. China took retaliatory action, imposing tariffs on multiple US goods, such as automobiles and soybeans. Tensions escalated until the two countries signed the US-China Phase One trade deal in January 2020. The agreement required structural reforms and other changes to China’s economic and trade regime and pretended to restore stability and trust between the two nations. However, the Coronavirus pandemic took the focus out of the conflict. Yet, it is worth mentioning that President Joe Biden, who took office after Trump, kept tariffs in place and even added some additional levies.
The return of Donald Trump to the White House as the 47th US President has sparked a fresh wave of tensions between the two countries. During the 2024 election campaign, Trump pledged to impose 60% tariffs on China once he returned to office, which he did on January 20, 2025. With Trump back, the US-China trade war is meant to resume where it was left, with tit-for-tat policies affecting the global economic landscape amid disruptions in global supply chains, resulting in a reduction in spending, particularly investment, and directly feeding into the Consumer Price Index inflation.
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