All Eyes on Today’s Fed Interest Rate Announcement in the US and Budget in the UK
March 18, 2015 7:45 am
Asian stocks shook off a slow start and rose on Wednesday, led by China shares, while the Dollar marked time as markets waited for the Federal Reserve’s policy statement for clues to when U.S. interest rates will rise. The Dow and the S&P 500 fell on Tuesday as materials shares declined and nervousness increased ahead of a Federal Reserve statement, while the Nasdaq ended higher. The Dow closed 128 points lower at 17,849, the S&P500 lost 6 points to close at 2,074.
The Euro was steady at $1.0594, having crawled back from a 12-year low of $1.0457 plumbed on Monday as Dollar bulls held back before the Fed’s statement. The Dollar was at 121.38 Yen flat for the day. It has been confined to a narrow range after touching an eight-year peak of 122.04 last week. Meanwhile, Sterling was under pressure at $1.4759 ahead of busy session that includes UK jobs data, minutes of the Bank of England’s last policy meeting and a budget from the Conservative government.
U.S. crude was down 83 cents at $42.63 a barrel, in reach of the six-year trough of $42.41 struck overnight. Brent for May delivery fell 50 cents to $53.01 a barrel by 06:44 GMT (02:44 ET) after ending the previous session 7 cents up at $53.51.
The annual UK budget will likely dominate local TV channels with GBP/USD already moving lower in anticipation while EUR/USD and USD/JPY seem to be in holding patterns until tonight’s Fed statement is out of the way before picking their next directional phase.
Asian stocks shook off a slow start and rose on Wednesday, led by China shares, while the Dollar marked time as markets waited for the Federal Reserve’s policy statement for clues to when U.S. interest rates will rise. The Dow and the S&P 500 fell on Tuesday as materials shares declined and nervousness increased ahead of a Federal Reserve statement, while the Nasdaq ended higher. The Dow closed 128 points lower at 17,849, the S&P500 lost 6 points to close at 2,074.
The Euro was steady at $1.0594, having crawled back from a 12-year low of $1.0457 plumbed on Monday as Dollar bulls held back before the Fed’s statement. The Dollar was at 121.38 Yen flat for the day. It has been confined to a narrow range after touching an eight-year peak of 122.04 last week. Meanwhile, Sterling was under pressure at $1.4759 ahead of busy session that includes UK jobs data, minutes of the Bank of England’s last policy meeting and a budget from the Conservative government.
U.S. crude was down 83 cents at $42.63 a barrel, in reach of the six-year trough of $42.41 struck overnight. Brent for May delivery fell 50 cents to $53.01 a barrel by 06:44 GMT (02:44 ET) after ending the previous session 7 cents up at $53.51.
The annual UK budget will likely dominate local TV channels with GBP/USD already moving lower in anticipation while EUR/USD and USD/JPY seem to be in holding patterns until tonight’s Fed statement is out of the way before picking their next directional phase.
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