This is what you need to know to trade today Thursday, April 15:
The dollar is slowly rising after Fed officials started talking about reducing bond purchases. All eyes are on March US retail sales, which are expected to increase. Cryptocurrencies are far from their new highs and Coinbase closed its debut day lower. Concerns about vaccines persist.
Comments on QE reductionJerome Powell, Chairman of the Federal Reserve, said the bank would first cut its bond buying scheme before raising interest rates, but stressed that the economy still needs to make significant progress.
Vice President Richard Clarida hinted that meetings that include new Fed forecasts, such as the next one in June, would provide opportunities to assess whether enough progress has been made to reassess purchases.
Dollar bounce: The mere talk about the downside supported the dollar, pushing EUR / USD away from the 1.20 zone and falling GBP / USD from 1.38. Gold remains around $ 1,740 and USD / JPY is around 109.00.
Compulsive shopping: Focus shifts to Thursday’s release of US retail sales figures for March. The economic calendar points to an increase of more than 5% after a fall in February and when Americans received new stimulus checks. Uncertainty is high and some experts see a double-digit jump in spending.
March US Retail Sales Forecast: Can a Strong Rebound Raise Inflation Expectations?
The United States also publishes weekly jobless claims, which will drop to around 700,000, and other numbers such as industrial production.
VaccinesThe US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has delayed its decision on the safety of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccines, and the EU is ready to deliver its verdict next week. Meanwhile, Brussels announced that the 27 countries of the bloc will receive another 50 million doses of the Pfizer / BioNTech inoculations in the second quarter. The old continent continues to lag behind other developed economies.
Coinbase, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges, is listed directly in New York and experienced substantial volatility. The firm surpassed the $ 100 billion valuation and then closed 14% below its opening price.
Bitcoin it is changing hands around $ 63,000, below Wednesday’s near $ 65,000 peak, but above previous highs. Ethereum, XRP and other digital assets continue to be well offered.
The AUD/USD it is trading around 0.77, slightly lower despite another highly successful job report from Australia. 70,700 jobs were won in March and the unemployment rate fell to 5.6%. China releases first-quarter growth figures this coming early morning, with estimates of roughly 18% expansion compared to the first three months of 2020.
The USD / CAD it is changing hands around 1.25, and the loonie is benefiting from a rise in oil prices. US crude inventories fell more than expected.
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