| Time | Country | Event | Period | Previous value | Forecast | Actual |
|---|
| 07:00 | Germany | Retail sales, real adjusted | January | -5.3% | 2% | -0.3% |
| 07:00 | Germany | Retail sales, real unadjusted, y/y | January | -6.4% | -6.1% | -6.9% |
| 07:00 | Germany | Industrial Production s.a. (MoM) | January | -2.4% | 1.4% | 3.5% |
| 10:00 | Eurozone | Employment Change | Quarter IV | 0.3% | 0.4% | 0.3% |
| 10:00 | Eurozone | GDP (QoQ) | Quarter IV | 0.4% | 0% | 0% |
| 10:00 | Eurozone | ECB President Lagarde Speaks | | | | |
| 10:00 | Eurozone | GDP (YoY) | Quarter IV | 2.4% | 1.9% | 1.8% |
USD appreciated against other major currencies in the European session on Wednesday as investors reassessed the Federal Reserve's rate hike path after hawkish remarks of its chairman Jerome Powell.
The U.S. Dollar Index (DXY), measuring the U.S. currency's value relative to a basket of foreign currencies, edged up 0.10% to 105.72.
Testifying before the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday, Powell stated that strong economic indicators will likely prompt the U.S. central bank to hike interest rates more than previously anticipated to tame inflation. "If the totality of the data were to indicate that faster tightening is warranted, we would be prepared to increase the pace of rate hikes," the Fed’s chair stated.
The hawkish comments of Powell forced markets to re-set their near-term rate expectations. According to the CME FedWatch Tool, the probability of a 50-basis-point rate rise at the Fed’s March meeting increased to 70.5% this morning from 27.7% before Powell’s comments. In addition, markets now see the Fed's terminal rate to be in the 5.50-5.75% range versus 5.25-5.50% earlier this week.