EUR/USD inches closer to 1.10 ahead of FOMC and ECB
We are heading into a potentially very volatile 24-hour period, with the Fed set to kick things off today, before the BoE and ECB make their policy decisions on Thursday. The EUR/USD and GBP/USD will thus be in focus. The trend for both remains bullish heading into these central bank meetings, but let’s focus on the EUR/USD here.
All eyes on Jay Powell and FOMC
The EUR/USD has remained inside a tight range over the past several days, with 1.0900 area offering resistance and 1.0800 support. Ahead of the FOMC, it has tried to break away above 1.09 handle, although the bullish momentum has understandably been weak with most traders sitting on their hands until the Fed decision is out of the way. I think there is a good chance we could see a bullish break out soon with 1.1000 likely to be the main short-term objective, owing to further weakness in US data. But on FOMC days, there’s usually a bit of volatility before the trend resumes. So, don’t dismiss the potential for another dip before the resumption of the bullish trend.
The FOMC is expected to reduce the pace of hiking further, to 25 basis points at the conclusion of its meeting today. The policy statement will be released at 19;00 GMT, with Jay Powell’s presser to start half an hour later. The Fed Chair is likely to keep further hikes on the table and lean against bets they will cut later this year, something which may get interpreted as being hawkish. But as we have seen in recent Fed meetings, the market has been quick to dismiss the Fed’s hawkishness and price in a lower terminal interest rate. Are we going to see a similar response this time, too?
More signs of weakening US economy
Well, the weakness in US data continued today, with the ADP payrolls printing its lower number since last January at 106K vs. 170K eyed. On top of this, the ISM manufacturing PMI fell deeper in the contraction territory, printing 47.4 vs. 48.0 expected and 48.4 last. Worryingly, new orders contracted at a faster pace too, printing 42.5 vs. 45.1 in December. Employment in the sector declined.
Today’s weaker ADP and ISM data follow several other weaker-than-expected data on Tuesday, all helping to re-enforced expectations that the Fed will be more inclined to stop its hiking cycle sooner. Employment Cost Index, a key measure of wage inflation, rose by 1% q/q, which was weaker than expected, while the latest Chicago PMI reading (44.3 vs. 45.1 expected) and CB Consumer Confidence index (107.1 vs. 109.1 expected) both also disappointed.
Focus will turn to ECB next
The European Central Bank is set to hike interest rates by 50 basis points on Thursday, lifting the Main Refinancing Rate to 3.0% from 2.5% currently. While this is fully priced in, there’s still a lot of uncertainty in terms of forward guidance, which is what will ultimately determine how the markets react on Thursday. Given the recent weak indicators from Germany, it looks like growth at the Eurozone’s largest economy has weakened again, which could be an indication for what’s to come in the early parts of this year. As a result, the ECB will not want to be too aggressive in its forward guidance, especially as other central banks have now either slowed the pace of tightening or paused it. That said, given that inflation remains very high here compared to the US, the ECB is going to tighten its policy at least a couple of more times before pausing. This should help provide support for the euro on the dips.
How will the markets react to the ECB decision?
So, the interest rate decision should be a straight-forward 50 basis point hike. Let’s take a look at various scenarios insofar as the forward guidance is concerned.
Investors will want to know whether the ECB is going to fully commit itself to another 50-bps hike in March and at its next meeting.
1) If so, this should send the EUR/USD 100-200 pips higher on the day, above the 1.10 handle, and cause the DAX and other European indices to slump.
2) The second scenario would be if the ECB keeps the door open for 50-bps hike in March but provides a less hawkish forward guidance for its subsequent meetings. This would probably prevent the EUR/USD from moving too much away from 1.10 handle and keep equity market bulls somewhat happy.
3) The third scenario would be if the ECB does not pre-commit to any further 50-bps hikes and instead suggest that the pace of tightening will slow down. In this scenario, the EUR/USD should drop sharply, perhaps by 100-200 pips in initial response to around 1.0700, while the DAX could surge by 2% or more.
By Fawad Razaqzada on behalf of FOREX.com
All eyes on Jay Powell and FOMC
The EUR/USD has remained inside a tight range over the past several days, with 1.0900 area offering resistance and 1.0800 support. Ahead of the FOMC, it has tried to break away above 1.09 handle, although the bullish momentum has understandably been weak with most traders sitting on their hands until the Fed decision is out of the way. I think there is a good chance we could see a bullish break out soon with 1.1000 likely to be the main short-term objective, owing to further weakness in US data. But on FOMC days, there’s usually a bit of volatility before the trend resumes. So, don’t dismiss the potential for another dip before the resumption of the bullish trend.
The FOMC is expected to reduce the pace of hiking further, to 25 basis points at the conclusion of its meeting today. The policy statement will be released at 19;00 GMT, with Jay Powell’s presser to start half an hour later. The Fed Chair is likely to keep further hikes on the table and lean against bets they will cut later this year, something which may get interpreted as being hawkish. But as we have seen in recent Fed meetings, the market has been quick to dismiss the Fed’s hawkishness and price in a lower terminal interest rate. Are we going to see a similar response this time, too?
More signs of weakening US economy
Well, the weakness in US data continued today, with the ADP payrolls printing its lower number since last January at 106K vs. 170K eyed. On top of this, the ISM manufacturing PMI fell deeper in the contraction territory, printing 47.4 vs. 48.0 expected and 48.4 last. Worryingly, new orders contracted at a faster pace too, printing 42.5 vs. 45.1 in December. Employment in the sector declined.
Today’s weaker ADP and ISM data follow several other weaker-than-expected data on Tuesday, all helping to re-enforced expectations that the Fed will be more inclined to stop its hiking cycle sooner. Employment Cost Index, a key measure of wage inflation, rose by 1% q/q, which was weaker than expected, while the latest Chicago PMI reading (44.3 vs. 45.1 expected) and CB Consumer Confidence index (107.1 vs. 109.1 expected) both also disappointed.
Focus will turn to ECB next
The European Central Bank is set to hike interest rates by 50 basis points on Thursday, lifting the Main Refinancing Rate to 3.0% from 2.5% currently. While this is fully priced in, there’s still a lot of uncertainty in terms of forward guidance, which is what will ultimately determine how the markets react on Thursday. Given the recent weak indicators from Germany, it looks like growth at the Eurozone’s largest economy has weakened again, which could be an indication for what’s to come in the early parts of this year. As a result, the ECB will not want to be too aggressive in its forward guidance, especially as other central banks have now either slowed the pace of tightening or paused it. That said, given that inflation remains very high here compared to the US, the ECB is going to tighten its policy at least a couple of more times before pausing. This should help provide support for the euro on the dips.
How will the markets react to the ECB decision?
So, the interest rate decision should be a straight-forward 50 basis point hike. Let’s take a look at various scenarios insofar as the forward guidance is concerned.
Investors will want to know whether the ECB is going to fully commit itself to another 50-bps hike in March and at its next meeting.
1) If so, this should send the EUR/USD 100-200 pips higher on the day, above the 1.10 handle, and cause the DAX and other European indices to slump.
2) The second scenario would be if the ECB keeps the door open for 50-bps hike in March but provides a less hawkish forward guidance for its subsequent meetings. This would probably prevent the EUR/USD from moving too much away from 1.10 handle and keep equity market bulls somewhat happy.
3) The third scenario would be if the ECB does not pre-commit to any further 50-bps hikes and instead suggest that the pace of tightening will slow down. In this scenario, the EUR/USD should drop sharply, perhaps by 100-200 pips in initial response to around 1.0700, while the DAX could surge by 2% or more.
By Fawad Razaqzada on behalf of FOREX.com
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