| Time | Country | Event | Period | Previous value | Forecast | Actual |
|---|
| 06:45 | Switzerland | Unemployment Rate (non s.a.) | February | 2.2% | | 2.1% |
| 07:00 | United Kingdom | Halifax house price index | February | 0.2% | -0.3% | 1.1% |
| 07:00 | United Kingdom | Halifax house price index 3m Y/Y | February | 2.1% | | 2.1% |
| 07:00 | Germany | Factory Orders s.a. (MoM) | January | 3.4% | -0.9% | 1% |
| 08:00 | Switzerland | Foreign Currency Reserves | February | 785.284 | | 770.597 |
USD firmed against other major currencies in the European session on Tuesday as investors waited for the Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell’s two-day monetary policy testimony before the U.S. Congress.
The U.S. Dollar Index (DXY), measuring the U.S. currency's value relative to a basket of foreign currencies, edged up 0.07% to 104.43.
The Fed’s chair Powell will testify in front of the Senate Banking Committee today at 15:00 GMT, and markets will scrutinize his speech for clues about the U.S. central bank’s future decisions on interest rates. Tomorrow, Powell will appear in front of the House Financial Services Committee with a speech that is largely expected to be a repeat of his today’s Senate testimony.
Hawkish remarks from Powell might prompt markets to revise their near-term interest-rate expectations. According to CME FedWatch Tool, markets are now seeing a 72.3% probability of a 25 basis-point rate hike at the Fed’s meeting later this month and a 27.7% chance of a larger half-point increase. Also, markets are now pricing in the U.S. rates to peak at around 5.4%.
Powell’s testimony will be followed by another decisive event - Friday’s release of the U.S. employment situation report for February. Economists predict the U.S. economy added 200,000 new jobs last month, with the unemployment rate remaining at 3.4% and average hourly earnings rising 0.3% m/m and 4.7% y/y.