technical

Gold prices are in consolidation mode on Wednesday, with XAU/USD trading around $5,170 with a modest downward bias.

Europe could be facing a familiar economic challenge: inflation caused by imports. The rise of energy costs is enough to revive an uncomfortable question for policymakers: Is the ghost of stagflation coming back?

The EUR/USD pair traded with a soft tone throughout the first half of the day, holding within familiar levels. The Middle East war continues, with back-and-forth attacks and the US Dollar (USD) benefiting from persistent uncertainty.

The bullish retracement has created a bearish head and shoulders chart pattern in line with the dominant trend, which will complete below $1.1600.

The AUD/USD pair prolongs its weekly uptrend for the third straight day and climbs to a fresh high since June 2022, closer to the 0.7200 mark on Wednesday.

EUR/USD stabilizes slightly above 1.1600 in the European session on Wednesday as investors await February inflation data from the United States (US), while assessing the latest headlines surrounding the Middle East crisis and comments from European Central Bank (ECB) policymakers.