Despite spiking gasoline prices, the Conference Board released a report on Tuesday showing an unexpected improvement in U.S. consumer confidence in the month of April. The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index crept up to 92.8 in April from an upwardly revised 92.2 in March.

The Bank of Japan retained its key interest rate in a split vote on Tuesday and upgraded its inflation outlook citing higher global crude oil prices due to the Iran war, and the policy assessment added to expectations for an interest rate hike in the near-term. The BoJ policy board, headed by Kazuo Ueda, voted 6-3 to hold the uncollateralized overnight call rate at around 0.75 percent at the end

The Dollar Index rebounded during the week ended April 24, amidst an uncertain geopolitical situation in the Middle East and lack of clarity about a deal to end the conflict.

German consumer sentiment is set to deteriorate sharply in May as income expectations collapsed due to rising inflation amid the war in Iran, the latest results of the NIM Consumer Climate powered by GfK showed Monday. The forward-looking consumer confidence index fell to -33.3 in May from -28.1 in April. This was the lowest score since February 2023.