Forex Today: Fed Expected to Hold Rates Steady

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The US Federal Reserve is holding a policy meeting today and is almost universally expected to hold its interest rate steady but is seen as likely to cut at the next meeting.

1. The US Federal Reserve will be holding a policy meeting today and will almost certainly not be changing the Federal Funds Rate, which stands at a relatively high 4.50%. However, the contents of the FOMC statement will be closely watched, and might influence expectations for further rate cuts - the Fed is currently expected by most analysts to cut rates by 0.25% at its next meeting in September, and any change to that will cause movement in stock markets and the US Dollar.
2. The Bank of Canada will be holding a policy meeting today and is widely expected to leave its Overnight Rate at 2.75%, although its Rate Statement and Monetary Policy Reports will be closely watched for clues about future moves.
3. Australian CPI (inflation) data released earlier today showed annualized inflation unexpectedly falling from 2.1% to 1.9%.
4. US Advance GDP is expected to show a strong rebound today, with a quarterly annualized rate of 2.4% seen as likely, up from contraction in the previous quarter. If the number is unexpectedly higher, that will likely be positive for the USD, if lower, negative for the USD.
5. There will be a release of US Non-Farm Payrolls ADP forecast data today which is expected to show a relatively small number of new jobs.
6. In the Forex market, the Tokyo session has been relatively quiet, with small price movements, showing the Euro as the weakest major currency and the Japanese Yen as the strongest. The EUR/USD currency pair remains in a valid long-term bullish trend, but the price is still trading below $1.1600.
7. In the crypto world, Ethereum is rising again after falling from a price near the big round number at $4,000 on Sunday. Trend traders will probably be looking to get long of Ethereum. Futures are available but there are also Ethereum ETFs which many traders will find more affordable. Bitcoin continues its bullish consolidation below the major resistance level at $120.055.
8. Precious metals are established in valid long-term bullish trends, including Gold, Silver, Platinum, and Palladium. However, all are consolidating.
9. The industrial metal Copper has recently made fresh all-time highs but has sold off quite strongly like everything else which has been trending higher lately, and the price is now not very far from invalidating the trend technically.
10. US stock markets have made a bit of a bearish retracement, but indices are still very close to their all-time high prices.