Yesterday, there was the Fed meeting, at which the regulator, as expected, raised the interest rate by 25 basis points to 1.75%. However, instead of strengthening, the US dollar has significantly weakened relative to other major currencies. The reason for this may be the fact that investors expected the Central Bank to raise interest rates 4 times this year. However, as it became known, there would be only 3 increases. The regulator believes that the US economy is stable and will show steady growth. At the same time, Jerome Powell is concerned about the level of inflation in the country. The official would like to see stronger increase in wages and production activity. Yesterday, the US dollar index (#DX) closed in the negative zone (-0.74%).
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand, as expected, left the interest rate unchanged at the level of 1.75%. The regulator plans to follow the current monetary policy. Today, the attention is focused on the Bank of England meeting. Investors expect that the regulator will leave the interest rate at the previous level of 0.50%.
At the moment, the "black gold" prices are consolidating after significant growth during yesterday's trading. Futures for the WTI crude oil are testing a mark of $65.10 per barrel.
Market Indicators
Yesterday, there were sales on the US stock market: SPDR S&P 500 (NYSE:SPY) (-0.19%), SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE:DIA) (-0.19%), PowerShares QQQ Trust Series 1 (NASDAQ:QQQ) (-0.44%).
At the moment, the 10-year US government bonds yield is at the level of 2.85-2.86%.
The news feed on 2018.03.22:
- The index of business activity in the manufacturing sector of Germany at 10:30 (GMT +2:00);
- IFO business climate index in Germany at 11:00 (GMT+2:00);
- A number of indices of business activity in the eurozone at 11:00 (GMT+2:00);
- The volume of retail sales in the UK at 11:30 (GMT+2:00);
- Bank of England interest rate decision at 14:00 (GMT+2:00).