Markets flat ahead of Fed decision
- Japan retail sales y/y -0.2% vs. 0.4%
- Australia CPI q/q 0.5% vs. 0.7%; trimmed mean CPI q/q 0.3% vs. 0.5%
- German import prices m/m -0.7% vs. -0.2%
- Eurozone Gfk consumer climate 9.4 vs. 9.5
Later
- FOMC statement
- RBNZ rate statement
The markets today are trading with a mixed sentiment with the Canadian dollar leading the way gaining 0.41% for the day. On a day with no major news releases, most of the currencies were trading flat ahead of the Fed decision due in a few hours. The CAD’s gains come amid Crude oil trading higher today, gaining 0.58% for the day after prices touched a 9 week low yesterday at 42.58.
The Asian trading session saw the release of the Australian quarterly inflation data which was subdued. Headline CPI increased 0.5%, down from 0.7% previously while also missing estimates of 0.7%. The trimmed mean CPI was more subdued rising 0.3%, down from 0.6% previouslyThe Australian dollar is the weakest currency of the day so far losing -0.78% for the day. Trading is flat after the news release with AUDUSD ranging between 0.7137 through 0.711.
The New Zealand dollar is also weaker, losing -0.91% for the day ahead of the RBNZ’s interest rate decision that is due later tonight after the FOMC meeting. NZDUSD is currently trading near 5 day low of 0.67.
The Japanese Yen was rather muted today rising 0.09% for the day. USDJPY is trading near 120.35 at the time of writing and remains in a tight range.
The European markets were also quiet today with no major releases. EURUSD is up 0.28% on ECB official’s speech where one official was quoted by the wires noting that the ECB saw no need for policy easing in December. The comments were seen as bullish as EURUSD attempts to break out of its range after declining to 1.10 lows from last week’s ECB’s meeting where Draghi said that the ECB would review the case for expanding the QE program in December.
The British Pound which turned weaker late yesterday evening remains flat for the day trading at 1.528 or down -0.12% for the day.
The US trading session is quiet ahead of the FOMC statement. There is no press conference scheduled today and the markets widely expect the Federal Reserve to hold rates steady today in light of weak NFP prints for the last two months. The focus will obviously be on the tone of the FOMC’s statement as speculation remains mixed for December rate hikes. Later in the evening the RBNZ will also be meeting to decide its monetary policy where expectations are for the Central bank to hold rates steady at this meeting. However, the recent strength in the Kiwi is likely to see some dovish rhetoric from the RBNZ.
