What you should know on Wednesday, March 23:
The USD fell against most major rivals on Tuesday, except the Japanese yen, with USD/JPY rising to 121.02, its highest level since February 2016. The dollar advanced during the Asian session, following the example of the rising US government bond yields Fed Chairman Powell hinted at a 50bp hike in May.
However, European indices managed to post some modest gains, curbing demand for the dollar. Wall Street followed the lead of its overseas counterparts, also posting gains and weighing on the dollar. Speculative interest ignored the bond sell-off that sent the yield on 10-year US Treasuries to a multi-month high of 2.39%.
The EUR made a tepid advance against the dollar, with the pair now quoting at the 1.1020 price zone. The Union is too united and too affected by the conflict between Russia and Ukraine to see a real appreciation of its currency, despite growing speculation that the ECB will have to raise rates by at least 50 bps before the end of the year.
The GBP/USD pair hit a fresh three-week high of 1.3273, retaining most of its intraday gains at the end of the day.
AUD/USD hit a fresh 2022 high of 0.7469, trading close ahead of the Asian open, while USD/CAD consolidated losses near its weekly low at 1.2564.
Crude oil prices started the day on a solid footing but ended the day with modest losses. WTI closed around $109.00 a barrel.
Gold fell sharply during US trading hours, bottoming on the day at $1,910.64 a troy ounce. It later recovered and ended at around $1,922.00.
Meanwhile, the number of coronavirus infections continues to rise in Europe, mostly linked to the BA2 variant. The World Health Organization blamed European governments for lifting restrictions too soon.
Furthermore, Russia continues to intensify its attack on Ukraine, with no solution in sight to the Eastern European crisis.
Source: Fx Street
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