The euro and pound are trading little changed against the dollar on the session now, while other major currencies are still looking fairly sluggish against the greenback. Cable rose to a high of 1.2675 earlier after the UK inflation data but has pared that advance to 1.2640 levels currently.

For now, the dollar remains in charge with USD/JPY especially keeping higher by 0.4% at 147.75 and still angling for a break above its 100-day moving average (red line):

USD/CAD is seen up 0.2% to 1.3523, still keeping a break above its own 200-day moving average of 1.3480. Meanwhile, the antipodean currencies are also struggling amid a more defensive risk mood and poor China data from earlier. AUD/USD is down 0.6% to 0.6545 while NZD/USD is down 0.4% to to 0.6113 and inching closer towards a test of its own 200-day moving average at 0.6092.

The bond market remains mostly steady so far today with 10-year Treasury yields flattish at 4.065%. Equities are still struggling hard with European indices holding well over 1% losses across the board while S&P 500 futures are down 0.5% currently.

In other markets, gold is down 0.4% to $2,019 while Bitcoin is also marked down by 1.5% to $42,770 on the day.

It’s all still to play for in trading today, with US retail sales data coming up later. That is set to be the next key hurdle for markets to work through. A stronger report there will solidify chances of a soft landing in the economy, while reaffirming added flexibility for the Fed to play around with the timing of a policy pivot.

This article was written by Justin Low at www.forexlive.com.