The EUR/USD declined to two week lows after the European Central Bank held interest rates steady as expected.
Despite a bounceback on Friday, the pair declined over the week after the Bank of England held rates at 3.75%. However, a large minority of bank officials voted to cut by 25 basis points, increasing expectations of a rate cut in March.
The USD/JPY rose to an almost two week peak amid uncertainty for the Japanese currency due to snap elections which were held on February 8th.
Gold prices increased over the week as traders moved into the safe haven, amid considerable volatility in stocks. In geopolitics the US and Iran began negotiations, but most analysts believe US military action against Iran remains possible.
US S&P 500 traded lower as traders rotated away from tech stocks towards industrials. Despite broadly better than expected earnings results, companies like Google, Amazon and Microsoft will sharply increase investment in AI, causing concerns of potential overspending.
Oil prices closed the week slightly higher as traders paused to assess the outcome of US-Iran talks, amid ongoing geopolitical uncertainty and potential threats to oil supplies.