| Time | Country | Event | Period | Previous value | Forecast | Actual |
|---|
| 00:30 | Australia | Export Price Index, q/q | Quarter IV | 6.2% | | 3.5% |
| 00:30 | Australia | Import Price Index, q/q | Quarter IV | 5.4% | | 5.8% |
| 07:00 | Germany | Gfk Consumer Confidence Survey | February | -6.9 | -7.8 | -6.7 |
| 07:00 | Switzerland | Trade Balance | December | 4.1 | | 4.0 |
During today's Asian trading, the US dollar rose significantly against major currencies, as market participants played back the results of the meeting of the Federal Reserve System (Fed), which kept the base rate at 0-0.25% per annum and announced that it plans to curtail the asset repurchase program in March.
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said that members of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) intend to raise the rate in March. He also made it clear that the Fed is likely to increase the rate faster than it has done in the past.
"This will be a year during which we will steadily move away from the highly stimulating monetary policy used to overcome the economic consequences of the pandemic," Powell said, adding that the US economy no longer needs such a large support from the Fed.
In his speech, Powell also stressed that he expects inflation to slow down in the United States during the current year.
The US dollar, as well as US Treasuries yields, rose on Powell's statements, as did market expectations regarding the Fed's March rate hike. According to the CME Group, traders estimate a 100% chance of a rate hike in March and a 72.6% chance of its next increase in early May.
The ICE index, which tracks the dynamics of the dollar against six currencies (euro, swiss franc, yen, canadian dollar, pound sterling and swedish krona) rose by 0.88%, and reached its highest level since mid-December 2021.