The Fed, as expected, raised the key interest rate by 25 basis points to 1.50%. The regulator published quite optimistic economic forecasts. At the same time, the US dollar appreciably weakened against the major currencies. The dollar index (#DX) closed in the negative zone (-0.72%). The US currency was under pressure due to the Central Bank's concern over the low inflation. Some Fed's representatives said that in the near future there is no need to hurry up with the monetary policy tightening. The regulator kept forecasts about further rates of the key interest rate increase.
Today we expect high trading activity. The attention will be focused on the press conferences of the National Bank of Switzerland, the Bank of England and the ECB. Most experts believe that regulators will leave interest rates unchanged. We recommend paying attention to the comments of the Central Banks representatives. Investors will also monitor economic reports from the UK and the US.
Yesterday, prices for "black gold" continued to decline. An increase in oil production in the United States put pressure. The indicator reached a record value of 9.78 million b/d. At the moment, futures for the WTI crude oil are testing the mark of $56.75 per barrel.
Market Indicators
Major US stock indices showed a variety of trends: #SPDR S&P 500 (NYSE:SPY)(-0.01%), #DIA (0.35%) and #PowerShares QQQ Trust Series 1 (NASDAQ:QQQ) (+0.19%).
The 10-year US government bonds yield began to recover after a sharp fall during yesterday's trading. At the moment the indicator is at the level of 2.37-2.38%.
The news feed on 2017.12.14:
- The decision of the Central Bank of Switzerland on the interest rate at 10:30 (GMT+2:00);
- Statistics on business activity in the Eurozone at 11:00 (GMT+2:00);
- A report on retail sales in the UK at 11:30 (GMT+2:00);
- A decision on the interest rate of the Bank of England at 14:00 (GMT+2:00);
- The ECB press conference at 14:45 (GMT+2:00);
- A report on retail sales in the US at 15:30 (GMT+2:00).