| Time | Country | Event | Period | Previous value | Forecast | Actual |
|---|
| 01:30 | Australia | Trade Balance | March | 6.591 | 7.37 | 5.024 |
| 06:30 | Switzerland | Consumer Price Index (MoM) | April | 0% | 0.1% | 0.3% |
During today's Asian trading, the US dollar declined moderately against major currencies, continuing yesterday's decline caused by the results of the Fed meeting and statements by Central Bank Chairman Powell.
The US Dollar Currency Index (DXY), which tracks the dynamics of the dollar against six currencies (euro, swiss franc, yen, canadian dollar, pound sterling and swedish krona) fell by 0.10% to 105.65. Yesterday, the index fell by 0.58% after the Fed left interest rates unchanged, and Powell confirmed the Fed's intention to ease monetary policy, although he reiterated that high inflation could delay interest rate cuts for some time. At the same time, Powell described the risk of further rate hikes as "unlikely." According to the CME FedWatch Tool, markets see a 8.9% probability of a 25 basis point rate cut at the Fed meeting in June, a 29.6% probability of a rate cut in July, and a 55.0% probability of monetary policy easing in September.
The yen fell 0.65% against the US dollar to 155.45. The sharp overnight move came in a quiet period for markets after Wall Street had closed, and hours after the Fed had wrapped up its policy meeting. Since the beginning of 2024, the USD/JPY has grown by more than 10% as traders revised expectations regarding the timing of the Fed's first rate cut, while the Bank of Japan made it clear that further policy tightening would be slow after the first rate hike since 2007 in March.
The Australian dollar rose by 0.3% against the US dollar, helped by increased investor appetite for risk. Meanwhile, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed that in March, trade surplus on goods declined to A$5.024 billion from a downward revision of A$6.591 billion in February. Economists had expected a decline to A$7.37 billion. It was the smallest trade surplus since November 2020, as exports grew much softer than imports. Investors now await a Reserve Bank of Australia policy meeting due next week, where the central bank is largely expected to keep rates on hold.