Should we keep an eye on the pound’s price movements as it weathered the decline?

Should we keep an eye on the pound’s price movements as it weathered the decline?

17.12.2021

Yesterday, the three major U.S. stock indices all fell, resulting in a market environment characterized by lower stock prices, lower interest rates, and higher oil prices.WTI crude oil rose to $71.60. Gold rebounded and recovered to $1,800, trading around $1,802. The VIX (fear index) rose by about 6.6% and is hovering around 20.5. U.S. industrial production for November, released yesterday, came in at 0.5%, compared to market expectations of 0.6%.

In the foreign exchange market, while cross-yen pairs have been falling since yesterday’s U.S. trading session, GBP/JPY has held its ground and is trading around 151.31.Yesterday, the Bank of England (BOE) announced a rate hike from 0.10% to 0.25%, causing the pound to rise temporarily. It surpassed this month’s high of 152.63. The focus will be on whether GBP/JPY can break above 153.81, the recent high on the 4-hour chart.

Today’s key events include a press conference by Bank of Japan Governor Kuroda at 3:30 p.m., UK retail sales and German producer price index at 4:00 p.m., the German IFO Business Climate Index at 6:00 p.m., the final Eurozone consumer price index at 7:00 p.m., the Canadian housing price index at 10:30 p.m., and remarks by Federal Reserve Governor Waller at 3:00 a.m.We will be closely monitoring how the various currencies, which have shown some movement heading into the weekend, perform during today’s U.S. trading session.