The US dollar has spent the past week consolidating within thin ranges, as low volumes did little to spark directional trade. This left the greenback down 1 percent against the euro and up roughly 1.5 percent versus the British pound and Japanese yen by Friday’s close.

Traders should keep in mind that the European Central Bank is still anticipated to cut rates yet again on January 15.

The Japanese yen lost ground to the dollar for the first week in two months as Japanese fundamental data signaled that the economy is headed into a prolonged recession.

The British pound continued its move towards parity against the euro and slid lower against the U.S. dollar ahead of the New Year, which suggests that investors remain bearish against the currency as market participants widely expect the Bank of England to lower borrowing costs even further in January.

In the coming week, low liquidity conditions could persist as scattered financial markets around the globe will be closed.

Professional system trader Art Collins shares his daily biases in the index, bonds and currency futures markets for December 24.

The situation we are facing now is why paper money was invented.

The US dollar appears to be unfazed by this morning’s mixed economic data. An improvement in consumer confidence has failed to help the dollar while the weaker news has pretty much been baked into the markets.

What should we expect for the dollar for the rest of the week?

Professional system trader Art Collins shares his daily biases in the index, bonds and currency futures markets for December 23.