Market Roundup
•EU Mar CPI (YoY) 2.4% , 2.5% forecast, 2.6% previous
•EU Mar HICP ex Energy & Food (YoY) 3.1%,3.3% previous
•EU Mar CPI, n.s.a 125.33, 124.38 previous
•EU Feb Unemployment Rate 6.5%,6.4% forecast,6.4% previous
•EU Mar (MoM) 0.8%, 0.6% previous
•EU Mar Core CPI (YoY) 2.9%,3.0% forecast,3.1% previous
Looking Ahead Events And Other Releases(GMT)
•13:45 US Mar Services PMI 51.7 forecast,52.3 previous
•13:45 US Mar S&P Global Composite PMI 52.2 forecast,52.5 previous
•13:45 US FOMC Member Bowman Speaks
•14:00 US I Mar SM Non-Manufacturing New Orders 56.1 previous
•14:00 US Mar ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI 52.8 forecast,52.6 previous
•14:00 US Mar ISM Non-Manufacturing Business Activity 56.7 forecast,57.2 previous
•14:00 US Mar ISM Non-Manufacturing Prices 58.6 previous
•14:00 US Mar ISM Non-Manufacturing Employment 48.0 previous
•14:30 US Gasoline Production -0.435M previous
•14:30 US Distillate Fuel Production 0.124M previous
•14:30 US Cushing Crude Oil Inventories 2.107M previous
•14:30 US Gasoline Inventories -0.820M forecast,1.299M previous
•14:30 US Crude Oil Inventories -0.300M forecast,3.165M previous
Looking Ahead Events And Other Releases(GMT)
•16:00 US Fed Goolsbee Speaks
•16:10 US Fed Chair Powell Speaks
•17:10 US Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Barr Speaks
•20:30 US FOMC Member Kugler Speaks
Currency Summaries
EUR/USD: The euro rebounded against dollar on Wednesday after data signalled Euro zone inflation unexpectedly eased. Euro zone inflation fell unexpectedly last month, solidifying the case for the European Central Bank to start lowering borrowing costs from record highs.Cosumer price growth in the 20 nations sharing the euro currency slowed to 2.4% in March from 2.6% a month earlier, defying expectations for a steady rate as food, energy and industrial goods prices all pulled the headline figure lower. Underlying inflation, closely watched by the ECB to gauge the durability of price pressures, meanwhile fell to 2.9% from 3.1%, coming below expectations for 3.0%, data from Eurostat, the EU's statistic's agency showed on Wednesday.Immediate resistance can be seen at 1.0797(9EMA), an upside break can trigger rise towards 1.0821(23.6%fib).On the downside, immediate support is seen at 1.0760 (38.2%fib), a break below could take the pair towards 1.0717 (50%fib).
GBP/USD: The pound held steady against the dollar on Wednesday, having rebounded from the seven-week lows against the U.S. currency it hit at the start of the week. Sterling was last at $1.2582 and 85.62 pence per euro with both pairs largely waiting for fresh catalysts to drive activity.The British currency's moves against the dollar have been comparatively more dramatic, and the pound dropped to $1.254 on Monday matching Friday's level, the lowest since mid February.That was on the back of U.S. economic data that caused markets to pare back the amount of rate cuts they expect by the U.S. Federal Reserve this year, while bringing forward expectations of the first Bank of England rate cut. Markets currently are pricing a 62% chance of a June Fed rate cut, according to CME's Fedwatch tool, and roughly a similar chance of a cut then by the Bank of England. Immediate resistance can be seen at 1.2600(38.2%fib), an upside break can trigger rise towards 1.2621(9EMA).On the downside, immediate support is seen at 1.2529(50%fib), a break below could take the pair towards 1.2456(6.8%fib).
USD/CHF: The dollar rose against the Swiss franc on Wednesday as stronger-than-expected economic data caused investors to rein in their bets on a June rate cut boosted dollar. Monday's U.S. ISM manufacturing survey data featured a sharp rise in a measure of prices in the sector, adding to investors' concerns that inflation will be slow to fall back to 2%, delaying the Federal Reserve's first rate cut.Fed Chair Jerome Powell on Friday said the central bank was in no hurry to lower borrowing costs after data showed a key measure of inflation rose slightly in February. The dollar index rose to 105.1 on Tuesday, its highest level since Nov. 14, adding to sharp gains on Monday. Immediate resistance can be seen at 0.9100(23.6%fib), an upside break can trigger rise towards 0.9141(Higher BB).On the downside, immediate support is seen at 0.9052 (5EMA), a break below could take the pair towards 0.8988(38.2%fib).
USD/JPY: The dollar edged higher on Wednesday but gains were limited as fears of intervention by Japanese officials limited gains. While the BOJ raised rates for the first time in 17 years, its policymakers' commitment to go slow on further increases have hammered the yen especially given the still-wide Japan-U.S. yield gap.Japanese officials have carried on with their efforts to talk up the currency for days, with the threat of an intervention presenting stiff resistance for the U.S. dollar. The Japanese yen was last at 151.7 per dollar, little recovered from last week's slump to 34-year lows of 151.975, as the Bank of Japan's historic policy shift only served to underscore its outlier status.Strong resistance can be seen at 151.71(23.6%fib), an upside break can trigger rise towards 152.86(Higher BB).On the downside, immediate support is seen at 151.62 (Daily low), a break below could take the pair towards 150.46(38.2%fib).
Equities Recap
At (GMT 12:10),UK's benchmark FTSE 100 was last trading down at 0.31 percent, Germany's Dax was up by 0.18 percent, France’s CAC was last up by 0.20 percent.
Commodities Recap
Gold took a breather after notching another record high on Wednesday as growing tensions in the Middle East and U.S. interest rate cut hopes continued to push investors to the safe haven asset.
Spot gold was down 0.4% at $2,271.50 per ounce, as of 0958 GMT after hitting a record high of $2,288.09 earlier in the session. Analysts attributed the slight pullback to an uptick in U.S. yields .U.S. gold futures gained 0.5% to $2,292.
Oil prices extended gains on Wednesday, as investors mulled supply risks stemming from Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries and the potential for escalation in the Middle East conflict, while OPEC+ ministers made no changes to current output cuts in a meeting.
Brent crude futures for June rose 75 cents, or 0.84%, to $89.67 per barrel at 1130 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures for May gained 73 cents, or 0.86%, to $85.88 a barrel.
