The Fed, as expected, kept the range of the key interest rate at the previous level of 1.00-1.25%. The regulator plans to begin reducing the volume of government securities on the balance sheet in October this year. At the moment, the volume of assets is $4.5 trillion. According to the plan of the Central Bank, the initial reduction is planned at $10 billion per month. The volume will increase quarterly. The maximum amount is $50 billion per month. The Fed also published quite optimistic economic forecasts. The growth of the US economy this year has been revised from 2.2% to 2.4%. These events caused a significant demand for the American currency. The probability of an increase in the key interest rate in December 2017 increased to 65.8%.
Today, the two-day meeting of the Bank of Japan ended in the Asian trading session. The central bank kept the key interest rate at the previous level of -0.1% as expected.
Yesterday aggressive purchases were observed in the "black gold" market. Futures for the WTI crude oil rose by more than 2%. At the moment, prices are stable. The oil quotes are testing a mark of $50.5 per barrel.
Market Indicators
Major US stock indices showed a variety of trends: SPDR S&P 500 (NYSE:SPY) (+0.04%), SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE:DIA) (+0.14%), PowerShares QQQ Trust Series 1 (NASDAQ:QQQ) (-0.31%).
At the moment, the 10-year US government bond yield is at the level of 2.27-2.28%.
News background on 2017.09.21:
- The number of initial claims for unemployment benefits in the US at 15:30 (GMT+3:00);
- The index of production activity from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia at 15:30 (GMT+3:00);
- The volume of wholesale sales in Canada at 15:30 (GMT+3:00).
At 16:30 (GMT+3:00) the head of ECB Draghi will give a speech.