| Time | Country | Event | Period | Previous value | Forecast | Actual |
|---|
| 07:00 | United Kingdom | PSNB, bln | February | 13.32 | -6.6 | -10.71 |
During today's Asian trading, the US dollar rose slightly against major currencies, continuing yesterday's rally and reaching a 2-week high, as the Fed signaled that it was in no hurry to resume monetary policy easing.
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) rose by 0.13% to 103.97. Yesterday, the index jumped by 0.41%, recording the largest increase since February 27. On Wednesday, the Fed kept interest rates unchanged, with forecasts indicating that policymakers still forecast two 0.25% rate cuts this year. Meanwhile, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said that "we will not rush into action, our current policy position is well prepared to deal with the risks and uncertainties we face." His statements highlighted the difficulties the Fed faces in navigating Trump's erratic tariffs, and the potential impact on the domestic economy. A new round of reciprocal levies is expected on April 2. Experts warn that as the deadline for Trump's announcement of mutual tariffs approaches, there is an increased risk that market participants will reduce their positions on the US dollar and take a more neutral position. Overall, the DXY has fallen 3.4% since the beginning of March.
The yen fell 0.4% against the US dollar after the Bank of Japan maintained the status quo at its meeting yesterday and warned of increased economic uncertainty due to increased US tariffs on trading partners. Meanwhile, today's Japanese data showed that overall consumer price inflation softened in February largely due to government subsidies for energy but the increase in core inflation along with higher wage growth and services inflation put pressure on the Bank of Japan to lift key interest rates. Excluding fresh food and energy, inflation rose to 2.6% from 2.5% in January. However, consumer price inflation fell to 3.7% in February from 4.0% in January. Likewise, excluding fresh food, inflation softened to 3.0% from 3.2%. On a monthly basis, the consumer price index edged down 0.1%, which was the first fall in five months. Overall, upward pressure on services and solid wage growth support an interest rate hike in May.