NZ Dollar stronger as trade deficit narrows

EUR/USD resumes its downtrend on Wednesday, navigating the area below the 1.1850 level in a context of modest gains in the US Dollar, while investors gear up for a slew of US data prior to the publication of the key FOMC Minutes.

GBP/USD is holding above 1.3550 in Wednesday's European morning, little changed following the UK Consumer Price Index (CPI) data release. The UK inflation eased as expected in January, reaffirming bets for a March BoE interest rate cut, especially after Tuesday's weak employment report. 

Gold sticks to modest intraday gains through the early European session, reversing a major part of the previous day's heavy losses of more than 2%, to the $4,843-4,842 region or a nearly two-week low. That said, the fundamental backdrop warrants caution for bulls ahead of the FOMC Minutes, which will look for more cues about the US Federal Reserve's rate-cut path. 

Pi Network is trading above $0.1900 at press time on Wednesday, extending the weekly gains by nearly 8% so far. The steady recovery is supported by a short-term pause in mainnet migration, which reduces pressure on the PI token supply for Centralized Exchanges. The technical outlook focuses on the $0.1919 resistance as bullish momentum increases.

Food inflation plunged in January, but service sector price pressure is proving stickier. We continue to expect Bank of England rate cuts in March and June. The latest UK inflation read is a mixed bag for the Bank of England, but we doubt it drastically changes the odds of a March rate cut.

Investors assess the Reserve Bank of New Zealand's policy decisions and January inflation data from the UK in the European morning on Wednesday. In the second half of the day, Durable Goods Orders, Housing Starts and Building Permits data for December will be featured in the US economic calendar, alongside January Industrial Production figures. Later in the American session, the Federal Reserve will publish the minutes of the January policy meeting.