Markets saw little excitement on Wednesday as nearly all major G10’s remained relatively rangebound. After a tough start to the week, Sterling attempted to rally early in the morning session but was unable to sustain those gains by the afternoon. The Dollar also remained under pressure, enabling EURUSD to hit fresh three-week highs as Fed Chair Jerome Powell spoke in the late afternoon. While addressing the Economic Club of Washington, Powell reiterated that it is highly unlikely that the Fed will raise rates before the end of 2022. On inflation, he noted that the “Fed seeks inflation that is moderately above 2% for some time”.
On the vaccine front, new rules could see care home staff in England be mandated to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock said that compulsory jabs are “something many care homes have called for” in order to protect against further spread of COVID-19. Government scientific advisers have estimated that 80% of staff and 90% of residents need to be vaccinated to provide a minimum level of protection against outbreaks of the virus.
GBPUSD opened on Wednesday at 1.3777 and closed just 2 pips above at 1.3779.
GBPEUR also traded flat on the day, trading in a tight range. The pair opened and closed the day at 1.1514.
EURUSD gained minimal upside in the European session opening at 1.1965 and closing at 1.1967. As already mentioned, after the close EURUSD rallied as Powell spoke, reaching as high as 1.1980.
Released at 07:00 is the latest German Inflation Rate, forecasted to come in at 1.7% for March, with a previous of 1.3%. Then at 09:30 will be the latest BoE Credit Conditions Survey. In the afternoon from the US, is Retail Sales for March, closely followed by the weekly Labour Report. Then at 14:15 is US Industrial Production, followed by speeches from Fed members Bostic, Daly, and Mester.
