What you need to take care of on Tuesday, December 20:

Major pairs traded choppily at the beginning of the week, with the US Dollar seesawing between gains and losses to close the day mixed. The mood was optimistic throughout the first half of the day but deteriorated ahead of Wall Street’s opening.

The better market mood was spurred by news that some big-tech companies are resuming activity in China as coronavirus-related restrictions relaxed. Furthermore, local authorities pledged to revive consumption and support the private sector in order to strengthen the economy next year.

Firmer government bond yields provided near-term support to the USD, but plummeting US indexes limited the dollar’s potential gains.

EUR/USD advanced further following the release of an upbeat December German IFO Survey. The pair traded between 1.0570 and 1.0650, ending the day unchanged at around 1.0600. GBP/USD edged lower on Monday and settled at around 1.2140.

EU ministers announced they agreed on a gas price cap that will take place in mid-February of  €180/MWh.

The AUD/USD pair battles the 0.6700 threshold, with demand for the AUD, undermined by the poor performance of Wall Street. USD/CAD recovered ahead of the close but finished the day with losses in the 1.3660 area.

The USD/JPY pair holds just below 137.00 ahead of the Bank of Japan monetary policy decision, while USD/CHF is down to  0.9295.

Gold flirted with $1,800 but finished the day in the red at around $1,786 a troy ounce. Crude oil prices, however, posted modest gains, with WTI settling at $75.40 a barrel.