Trading opened quietly on Monday, 19 October 2026, with market liquidity very thin, as is usual for a Monday morning, until more Asian trading centres come online. Thin conditions like these can exaggerate early price action, which is why open-time quotes deserve extra caution until liquidity deepens. The levels below are early indicative quotes and are liable to swing around in these conditions; the report cautioned readers to take care.

EUR/USD was indicated at 1.1191, showing lower in very early trade, with only the New Zealand market active at the time of writing. The report noted that US equities were soft in weekend trading so far, and that the author would return shortly with weekend news. Two weekend developments were flagged alongside the open: riots in Paris and elsewhere, and Russian drones shot down in Romanian airspace.

Early indicative levels at the open:

• USD/JPY: 158.03
• GBP/USD: 1.3315
• USD/CHF: 0.8240, with bids showing
• USD/CAD: 1.4135
• AUD/USD: 0.6959, with early bids
• NZD/USD: 0.5652

The open came against a busy weekend news backdrop covered by the outlet, one that frames the themes in focus as the week gets underway. On markets: Ethereum extended losses after the US CPI as risk sentiment deteriorated further; gold whipsawed after the CPI as the data fell short of bringing an October rate hike back into play, while a chart of the day noted that $4,200 remains a major hurdle even as gold rebounded alongside a falling dollar and yields; and US inflation worries were described as not over, with PPI and retail sales data posing fresh risks for markets.

On data and policy: French inflation rose sharply in September as price pressures added to the European Central Bank's rate-hike dilemma. Australian employment fell by 39,300 in September, pushing unemployment to a five-year high of 4.7%, which the outlet flagged as sending the AUD lower — context for the aussie's early bids at the open. Geopolitically, oil remained supported amid persistent Middle East tensions as the US weighed using the "Mother of All Bombs," and reports said Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) ordered the evacuation of military bases as US strike fears grew — keeping energy headlines on the watch list for the days ahead.

In equities, US stocks continued their declines, the outlet reported, with AI names falling as the Nasdaq came under fresh pressure and S&P 500 analysis following the "AI bubble" panic, while the Dow Jones showed relative strength. European equities found some footing after a volatile week. A bond-market piece argued that "the party continues until the money runs out," citing four things that have reversed bonds.

Source: investingLive (ForexLive) — https://investingLive.com/forex/monday-open-indicative-forex-prices-19-october-2026/