Forex News Roundup for 16 March, 2023
My FX List
March 16, 2023
348 Views
- The UK economy is predicted to shrink slightly by 0.2%. The government has set a goal to reduce inflation by 50%, and according to the OBR, inflation is projected to drop from its current level of 10.7% to 2.9% by the end of 2023.
- On Wednesday, U.S. stocks plummeted sharply as the banking crisis worsened and spread to Europe, leading Credit Suisse Group’s shares to fall over 20% to their lowest level ever. This also caused the lender’s credit default swaps to approach the distressed area.
- The S&P 500, the world’s most crucial stock market benchmark, was down more than 1.5% to 3,859 at noon in New York, with financials and materials leading the decline on Wall Street.
- The BOJ meeting minutes indicated that members debated making further changes to its YCC program, but they decided to wait and see for now.
- In January and February combined, China’s fixed asset investment grew by 5.5%, exceeding the projected 4.4% growth rate and last year’s full-year growth rate of 5.1%. Retail sales increased by 3.5% y/y, as expected, marking the first growth in three months and the quickest since August 2022 and the industrial output rose from 1.3% to 2.4% y/y in January-February, missing estimates of a 2.6% rise.
- The latest release of US PPI and Retail Sales data came in lower than expected, suggesting a cooling economy which may take some pressure off the Federal Reserve. As a result, the market may be more forgiving if the Fed makes no rate hike or only a 0.25% hike at its next meeting on 22nd March. There are now slightly more expectations of a no-hike outcome.
- Bitcoin recently hit a 9-month high above $26,500 but has since undergone a significant bearish retracement. The cryptocurrency will need to re-establish itself above the key psychological level of $25k to regain its bullish momentum.
- Although gold has seen strong gains recently, it is currently struggling to establish itself above a critical resistance level of $1917.
- The US Dollar is currently falling after a rise yesterday, while the Euro appears strong today. The New Zealand Dollar is weak, partly driven down by considerably worse than expected New Zealand GDP data, which showed a quarterly decline of 0.6% compared to the expected 0.2%.
- Earlier today, Australian unemployment data showed a stronger than expected decline in the unemployment rate, from 3.7% to 3.5%.
