Dollar slips, precious metals drop ahead of US data

Earlier in the session, the Australian CPI release showed a 3% annual rise in consumer prices, down from 3.8% in the previous quarter. However, the RBA trimmed-mean CPI rose to 2.1% from 1.6% previously. The Aussie traded 0.2% higher after the day, rising above 0.75 again.

Sterling traders will indeed watch today's leading event in the UK as Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak delivers his annual budget.

Later in the day, the Bank of Canada decides about monetary policy, with investors expecting no changes to interest rates, but the overall tone of the decision should be hawkish. As a result, volatility will most likely be elevated in the USDCAD pair. 

Overall, the US dollar index was down 0.1% today but still trading above the critical support of 93.50. Below it, the medium-term uptrend would likely be over.

The US durable goods orders data will be released later today, forecast to decrease notably, possibly undermining the US dollar. 

Elsewhere, precious metals continued to erase last week's gains, and gold was down 0.4% to 1,785 USD, while silver declined 1% to trade below 24 USD.