| Time | Country | Event | Period | Previous value | Forecast | Actual |
|---|
| 04:30 | Australia | Announcement of the RBA decision on the discount rate | | 3.6% | 3.6% | 3.85% |
| 06:00 | United Kingdom | Nationwide house price index, y/y | April | -3.1% | -3.6% | -2.7% |
| 06:00 | United Kingdom | Nationwide house price index | April | -0.7% | -0.4% | 0.5% |
| 06:00 | Germany | Retail sales, real unadjusted, y/y | March | -7.1% | | -8.6% |
| 06:00 | Germany | Retail sales, real adjusted | March | -0.3% | 0.4% | -2.4% |
| 07:00 | Switzerland | SECO Consumer Climate | Quarter II | -30.1 | | -29.7 |
During today's Asian trading, the US dollar declined against major currencies amid partial profit-taking after yesterday's rally. Investors are also adjusting their positions ahead of the Fed and ECB meetings later this week.
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) fell by 0.18% to 101.97.
The Australian dollar rose 1.1% against the US dollar on the back of the unexpected results of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) meeting. The Central bank raised the interest rate by 0.25% to 3.85%, while investors expected the rate to remain at 3.6%. Commenting on its decision, the RBA said that the tightening of monetary policy was aimed at curbing too high inflation. The RBA also warned that further interest rate hikes may be needed to ensure that inflation returns to the target level in a "reasonable timeframe." According to economists, softer core inflation has given the Bank some breathing space, particularly on concerns around mortgage rates, but the focus in this instance is high services prices and rising labor costs.
The New Zealand dollar rose 0.5% against the US dollar amid increased expectations that New Zealand (RBNZ) will raise rates by 0.25%, to 5.5%, at its policy meeting later this month.
The euro rose 0.25% against the US dollar, while investors are preparing for the publication of eurozone CPI data and the ECB meeting. While the overall inflation rate has steadily retreated from its October peak (6.9% in March versus 10.7% in October), core inflation continues to rise and so far shows no signs of reaching a peak or declining. In March, core inflation accelerated to 5.7%. ECB Chief Economist Philip Lane signaled a further tightening of monetary policy, as "current data indicate that we should raise rates again." This opinion was supported by other ECB policymakers. The consensus estimate suggests that overall inflation actually rose slightly in April - to 7.0% year-on-year, while core inflation probably remained at 5.7%.