EURUSDThe European currency shows mixed trading dynamics, consolidating near 1.0600 and local highs from April 27. The day before, EUR/USD showed the strongest growth in the last few weeks, which was the market's reaction to the results of the two-day meeting of the US Federal Reserve. As expected, the US regulator raised the interest rate by 50 basis points to the range of 0.75%?1.00% and announced the start of a quantitative tightening program, but it will not immediately reach the final volumes of purchases. From June 1, the Fed will start selling securities for a total of 47.5 billion dollars, after which it will increase the total monthly sales to 95 billion dollars within three months. The "hawks", who expected that the regulator would immediately bring purchases to the final amount, were somewhat disappointed by this decision. Additional pressure on the dollar was exerted by the rhetoric of the Chair of the US Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, who said that the issue of raising the interest rate by 50 basis points would also be discussed at the next meetings. Thus, the risks that the indicator will be corrected at a more aggressive pace have almost completely disappeared. In turn, pressure on the euro was exerted by frankly weak statistics on Retail Sales in the eurozone. In March, the indicator fell by 0.4% after rising by the same amount a month earlier, and in annual terms, the pace slowed sharply from 5.2% to 0.8%, while analysts had expected an increase of 1.4%.
GBPUSDThe pound is declining, correcting after the active growth the day before, which was caused by the publication of the final minutes of the meeting of the US Federal Reserve. The regulator, as expected, raised the rate by 50 basis points, but decided to slow down the pace of the quantitative tightening program. Also, the Chair of the Fed Jerome Powell signaled that the authorities have no plans to increase the rate by 75 basis points at the next meetings. Today, investors are actively closing their long positions on the pound, preferring to wait for the results of the Bank of England meeting. It is expected that the British regulator, following the US Federal Reserve, will raise the interest rate, but only by 0.25%, bringing it to the level of 1.00%. Traders will follow the updated forecasts and plans of the regulator in the field of monetary policy regulation.
AUDUSDThe Australian dollar shows negative dynamics against the US currency during the Asian session, correcting after a sharp rise the day before, which contributed to the movement of AUD/USD quotes to new local highs from April 22. Investors evaluate the results of a two-day meeting of the US Federal Reserve, at which officials raised interest rates by 50 basis points to 1.00%, and also announced a phased introduction of a quantitative tightening program. From June this year, the regulator will begin to reduce its balance sheet by 47.5 billion dollars a month, and from September the pace will increase to 95 billion dollars. In turn, the positive macroeconomic statistics provided significant support to the Australian dollar. The volume of Retail Sales in Australia increased by 1.6% in March after an increase of 1.8% a month earlier, although analysts had expected a sharp slowdown in the value to 0.6%. Today, the AUD/USD quotes are strengthening after the release of statistics on the Trade Balance, the surplus of which in March increased from 7.457 to 9.314 million Australian dollars, ahead of forecasts at the level of 8.500 million Australian dollars, while the current dynamics is fixed against the backdrop of a 5% decrease in imports, and export volumes remained virtually unchanged.
USDJPYThe day before, the US dollar showed a moderate decline against the yen, reacting to the publication of the minutes of the meeting of the US Federal Reserve. Despite the expected increase in the interest rate, as well as the launch of the quantitative tightening program, market participants were still disappointed by the rather cautious actions of the US financial regulator, as they were counting on a more aggressive approach in adjusting monetary policy parameters. An additional negative factor for the dollar was weak macroeconomic statistics from the US. The ADP report on employment in the private sector in April showed a drop in Nonfarm Payrolls from the previous 479 thousand to 247 thousand, while analysts expected a value of 395 thousand. The ISM Services PMI in April also showed an active decline from 58.3 to 57.1 points, while the market expected the index to rise to 58.5 points.
XAUUSDGold prices are actively growing, again trying to consolidate above 1.9 thousand dollars per troy ounce. The "bulls" are developing an upward momentum formed on Tuesday, when the instrument retreated from its local lows of February 16. The investor activity was facilitated by the results of the meeting of the US Fed. As expected, the regulator raised interest rates by 50 basis points and also announced the start of a quantitative tightening program starting June 1. Initially, it is planned to buy securities for a total of 47.5 billion dollars, but then within three months the volume will be increased to 95 billion dollars. Thus, the US financial authorities decided not to rush to tighten monetary policy, which crossed out the premature conclusions of traders on the upcoming rate hikes by 75 basis points at once. An additional negative factor for the dollar was weak macroeconomic statistics from the US. The ADP report on employment in the private sector in April showed a drop in Nonfarm Payrolls from the previous 479 thousand to 247 thousand, while analysts expected a value of 395 thousand. The ISM Services PMI in April also showed an active decline from 58.3 to 57.1 points, while the market expected the index to rise to 58.5 points.
