The US Dollar Is Consolidating. Investors Expect the ECB Meeting

Yesterday, the US dollar did not change a lot against a basket of major currencies. The dollar index (#DX) closed the trading session with a slight increase (+0.02%). Yesterday, ambiguous economic reports were published in the US. Thus, ADP nonfarm employment change fell to 183K in February, while experts expected 189K. The trade balance counted to -59.80B instead of -57.90B. The Fed's Beige Book was also published, according to which growth in economic activity in ten of the twelve regions of the US slowed down to slight and modest. At the same time, there was no growth at all in the districts of Philadelphia and St. Louis. The shutdown of the government's work in early 2019 was the reason for the slowdown.

The Canadian dollar reached 2-month lows against the US dollar. The Bank of Canada kept the key marks of the monetary policy at the same level. The regulator is concerned about the growing risks for the country's economy. In the near future, the Central Bank plans to adhere to the current rate of monetary policy and will not consider the interest rate rise. Loonie was under pressure due to weak statistics. Thus, Ivey PMI dropped to 50.6 in February instead of the forecasted value of 55.1. The trade balance counted to -59.80B in December, while experts expected -57.90B.

During the Asian trading session, a report on the volume of retail sales has been published in Australia, which rose by 0.1% in January and was worse than the expected value of +0.3%. Today, investors are focused on the ECB monetary policy statement. The regulator considers the resumption of the targeted longer-term refinancing operations (TLTRO) in order to stimulate the Eurozone economy. We recommend paying attention to the comments by the Central Bank representatives.

The "black gold" prices are rising. At the moment, futures for the WTI crude oil have approached the mark of $56.30 per barrel.

Market Indicators

Yesterday, there was the bearish sentiment in the US stock market: #SPY (-0.61%), #DIA (-0.51%), #QQQ (-0.57%).

At the moment, the 10-year US government bonds yield is at the level of 2.68-2.69%.

- Eurozone GDP data at 12:00 (GMT+2:00);
- ECB interest rate decision at 14:45 (GMT+2:00);
- Initial jobless claims in the US at 15:30 (GMT+2:00).

by JMarkets, 2019.03.07

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.