What you need to know on Wednesday, March 24:
The dollar appreciated strongly against most of its rivals, in a mix of risk aversion and encouraging comments from US Federal Reserve officials.
The shares fell as nervousness in Turkey continued to affect investor sentiment. European indices cut most of their losses before the close, while Wall Street accelerated its decline in the last hour of trading. US Treasury yields remained under selling pressure and fell to levels prior to the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy decision.
The EUR / USD pair is trading around 1.1850 heading into the Asian open, undermined by news related to the coronavirus. At least two countries, Germany and the Netherlands, announced an extension of their current lockdowns until mid-April.
In the UK, employment data weighed on the British pound. The country reported that in February, the number of unemployed increased by 86,600. The ILO unemployment rate for the three months to January fell to 5%, better than the 5.2% expected. Average hourly earnings in the same period increased less than anticipated, with wages excluding the bonus at 4.2%.
Commodity-linked currencies were the worst performers, although CAD appreciated in the mid-afternoon in the United States after the Bank of Canada hinted at a reduction in QE. “As overall financial market conditions continue to improve in Canada, the use of Bank of Canada programs introduced in 2020 in response to the impact of COVID-19 to support the functioning of key Canadian financial markets has declined. significantly. ” As a result, the central bank will discontinue its easing programs.
Gold fell despite the bad mood and settled at $ 1,726.90 a troy ounce. Crude oil prices were also affected by poor sentiment, with the WTI down at $ 57.60 a barrel.
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