All Eyes on the U.S. FOMC Policy Rate

All Eyes on the U.S. FOMC Policy Rate

28.04.2021

Yesterday, European markets fell across the board, while U.S. markets saw little movement ahead of the FOMC meeting, resulting in a market characterized by flat stock prices, a stronger U.S. dollar, and higher interest rates. Crude oil rose to the $62.7 range, while gold fell in tandem with the U.S. dollar’s rise and is currently trading in the $1,770 range. The U.S. S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index released yesterday came in at 11.94%, compared to the forecast of 11.8%.

In the foreign exchange market, the Dollar Index—which measures the relative strength of the U.S. dollar—has stopped falling, and the dollar is showing a notable rise. The USD/JPY pair touched 108.97 during today’s Asian trading session and is gaining momentum toward the 109.00 level. However, the EUR/USD pair is trading in a range between 1.205 and 1.209 on the hourly chart, indicating that the euro is also showing strength, much like the U.S. dollar.

Today, the French Consumer Confidence Index is scheduled for 3:45 PM, the U.S. MBA Mortgage Applications Index for 8:00 PM, Canadian Retail Sales and U.S. Wholesale Inventories for 9:30 PM,a speech by ECB President Lagarde at 11:00 PM, U.S. weekly crude oil inventories at 11:30 PM, the FOMC policy rate announcement and statement at 3:00 AM, and a press conference by FOMC Chair Powell at 3:30 AM.In addition, U.S. President Biden’s State of the Union address is scheduled for sometime between the early hours of this morning and the morning. We will carefully assess the strength of the U.S. dollar versus the euro, which has been trending higher recently.