- The US Federal Reserve will be holding a policy meeting later today at which it is widely expected to raise its interest rate by 25 basis points to 5.50%. The hike has been well priced in, and the controversy is around whether this will be the final hike within the current cycle – most analysts expect that it will be.
- There are a slew of major corporate earnings reports due today and later this week, so stocks are mixed. Anticipate of the Fed later today is also causing a lack of price direction.
- Australian CPI (inflation) fell from an annualized rate of 5.6% to 5.4% as expected, but some of the CPI metrics came in lower than expected, giving a very small dovish surprise. However, the Australian Dollar barely reacted to the news, although it is the weakest major currency today.
- Energies are seeing a rally, with WTI Crude Oil futures hitting a new 3-month high again yesterday, on evidence of supply shortages. This might be of interest to trend traders.
- In the Forex market, the strongest major currency today is the Swiss Franc, while the Australian Dollar is the weakest. Forex markets may not move much ahead of today’s FOMC release and expected rate hike, with the US Dollar likely to consolidate in the meantime.
- US CB Consumer Confidence data released yesterday was slightly better than expected.
- The Governor of the Bank of Japan is quoted as saying the Bank will maintain an accommodative monetary environment.