The various monetary policy stances and other dynamics in the financial markets are likely to keep the Greenback choppy.
Stocks initially down as Yellen stated that the government was not considering blanket deposit insurance, but afterwards her remark that the government is prepared to take additional actions provided some calm holding Wall street in green at the close, with gains of 1.01% on the US100. Asia markets were mixed, while European stocks are slightly higher on open. Overnight the BoE, SNB, and Norges Bank all hiked rates as expected – The SNB delivered a 50 bp hike, Norges Bank and BoE hiked by 25 bp. The bounce in risk appetite, the strength in jobless claims, and a renewal in corporate issuance have weighed a bit as well.
- FX – USDIndex modestly weaker at 102.30. EUR spiked to 1.0830, JPY has extended to 130.00 and Sterling found a floor at 1.2250.
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In Japan, we saw core inflation come in at 3.1% for February, marking the first time in 14 months that the pace of inflation has slowed.
- Stocks – The US30 and US500 are up 0.23% and 0.3%, respectively. Block & Coinbase tumbled over 14% and #FRC #PACW lost -6% and -8.55% respectively. Nikkei was down 0.13% to close.
- Payments group Block said it intends to work with US regulators and explore legal action against Hindenburg Research after the short seller issued a report accusing the company of inflating its user numbers and facilitating fraudulent transactions.
- Commodities – USOil – hovering around $69-$70 as traders weigh the Fed policy outlook and fine-tune expectations for US demand. The US crude inventories unexpectedly lifted 1.1 million barrels last week, which is the highest since May 2021. Large builds on the Gulf coast outweighed a decline at the Cushing Oklahoma storage hub. Markets are still waiting for the expected bounce in Chinese demand, while on the supply side Russia decided to extend its output reduction through June. That should help to keep a floor under prices.
- Gold – at $1985 after retesting $2003 again. Treasury yields may have nudged higher, USD remains under pressure but Gold has remained supported and added to the gains.
- Cryptocurrencies – BTC holds above $28K.
Today – PMIs from EU, UK and US and Durable Goods.
Biggest FX Mover @ (07:30 GMT) NZDJPY (-0.56%). Drifted to 81.10. MAs aligned lower, MACD histogram & signal line remain well above 0 and RSI at 31 and falling. H1 ATR 0.25 & Daily ATR 1.19.
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Andria Pichidi
Market Analyst
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