Investors Took a Wait-and-See Attitude Before the Fed Meeting

The US dollar continues to decline against a basket of major currencies. The dollar index (#DX) closed in the negative zone (-0.68%) yesterday. Today, the Fed will decide on the interest rate. The regulator is expected to raise the base interest rate by 0.25 percentage points to 2.25-2.50% per annum. At the same time, investors are worried that the central bank may signal a slowdown in monetary policy tightening. It should be recalled that earlier the US President, Donald Trump, once again criticized the Fed chairman for raising interest rates. We recommend paying attention to the comments by the FOMC officials.

Yesterday, the German IFO business climate index was also published, which counted to 101.0 and was worse than 101.8. Today, the European Commission may approve the new draft budget of Italy for 2019. We also recommend paying attention to the news feed of the UK and Canada.

The "black gold" prices are recovering after the collapse the day before. At the moment, futures for the WTI crude oil are testing the mark of $46.75 per barrel. At 17:30 (GMT+2:00), a report on crude oil inventories will be published in the US.

Market Indicators

Yesterday, there was a variety of trends in the US stock market: #SPY (-0.11%), #DIA (+0.39%), #QQQ (+0.63%).

The 10-year US government bonds yield has continued to decline. Currently, the indicator is at the level of 2.81-2.82%.

- Consumer price index in the UK at 11:30 (GMT+2:00);
- Core consumer price index in Canada at 15:30 (GMT+2:00);
- Existing home sales in the US at 17:00 (GMT+2:00);
- Fed interest rate decision at 21:00 (GMT+2:00);
- GDP data in New Zealand at 23:45 (GMT+2:00).

by JMarkets, 2018.12.19

This article reflects a personal opinion and should not be interpreted as an investment advice, and/or offer, and/or a persistent request for carrying out financial transactions, and/or a guarantee, and/or a forecast of future events.