Trend Forecast Apr 24 -28: Volatile and rise moves may be seen

EUR/USD’s selling pressure is gathering pace now, opening the door to a potential test of the key 1.1800 region sooner rather than later. The pair’s pullback comes on the back of marked gains in the US Dollar following US data releases and the publication of the FOMC Minutes later in the day.

GBP/USD holds its ground following Tuesday's slide and moves sideways above 1.3550 midweek. Although the data from the UK confirmed that inflation cooled in January, the positive shift seen in market mood helps the pair keep its footing as investors wait for the Fed to publish the minnutes of the January policy meeting.

Gold gathers fresh upside traction on Wednesday, leaving part of the weakness seen at the beginning of the week and refocusing its attention to the key $5,000 mark per troy ounce, all ahead of the release of the FOMC Minutes and despite the modest uptick in the US Dollar.

The Minutes of the Fed’s January 27-28 monetary policy meeting will be published today. Details of discussions on the decision to leave the policy rate unchanged will be scrutinized by investors.

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.