#GOLD

Here is what you need to know on Thursday, February 20:

While major currency pairs are having a tough time making a decisive move in either direction, Gold extends its uptrend to a new record-high on Thursday. The US economic calendar will feature the weekly Initial Jobless Claims report and the European Commission will publish the preliminary Consumer Confidence Index data for February. Later in the American session, several Federal Reserve (Fed) policymakers will be delivering speeches.

The minutes of the Fed's January policy meeting showed on Wednesday that officials debated whether it might be wise to slow or even pause the reduction of their balance sheet holdings, given that renewed concerns over the federal debt ceiling have come back into play. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump noted that it could be possible to make a new trade deal with China. These comments failed to trigger a noticeable market reaction and Wall Street's main indexes ended the day marginally higher. Early Thursday, US stock index futures trade in negative territory and the US Dollar Index holds steady near 107.00 after posting small gains for two consecutive days