EUR/USD maintains post-FOMC gains

The Federal Reserve left options for a March hike wide open as suggested by the FOMC statement that was released on Wednesday after a two-day meeting. The Fed held rates unchanged as expected. Oil jumped higher after the Fed’s policy announcement but fell again on Thursday.

Brent crude, the international benchmark, softened 0.8 per cent this morning to $32.85, while West Texas Intermediate, its US counterpart, was down 0.9 per cent to $31.99. Yesterday, Brent and WTI jumped 4.1 per cent and 2.7 per cent, respectively, amid rumours this week about coordinated production cuts that could stem a supply glut and help prices recover.

Asian shares were higher on Thursday morning. Japan’s Nikkei was up 0.2 per cent, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was 0.6 per cent higher. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.4 per cent. In China, the Shanghai Composite was down 0.9 per cent.

Gold, which is sensitive to moves in US interest rates, was down 0.4 per cent at $1,120.24 an ounce.

In currency markets, the Japanese yen was 0.1 per cent weaker at Y118.84 per dollar as data showed a lack of growth in retail sales in December. Investors are also turning their attention to the Bank of Japan’s policy meeting tomorrow, and although many analysts still think the BoJ will need to ramp up its stimulus programme, they do not think that boost will happen on Friday.

The New Zealand dollar was up 0.2 per cent at $0.6445 as the Reserve Bank of New Zealand kept its key interest rate unchanged this morning at 2.5 per cent. However, the Board acknowledged that the risks to domestic growth and inflation have risen in recent weeks, owing to volatility in financial markets and uncertainty over the strength of China’s economy.

The post EUR/USD maintains post-FOMC gains appeared first on FXTM Blog.

Source:: EUR/USD maintains post-FOMC gains

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