BOJ to ease monetary policy in March to counter coronavirus fears - Reuters Poll

Omkar Godbole FXStreet Contributor

Bank of Japan (BOJ) will ease monetary policy this month to calm markets and counter recession fears triggered by coronavirus outbreak, a majority of economists polled by Reuters said.

BOJ's next move will be to expand stimulus, almost 90% or 33 of 38 economists said compared to 30% in February poll.

Of the 33 economists who said the bank's next move would be to ease, 23 expected the BOJ to boost stimulus in March, while six saw it happening during the second quarter. Others did not give a reply on the timing.

Only 13% of economists now expect the BOJ's next move to be an unwinding of stimulus, the poll showed, sharply down from 70% in last month's survey.

Author

Omkar Godbole

FXStreet Contributor

Omkar Godbole, editor and analyst, joined FXStreet after four years as a research analyst at several Indian brokerage companies.

EUR/USD remains bid near 1.1650 post-US ADP

Finally some respite for the risk complex see EUR/USD partially recover from the recent steep sell-off, this time hovering around the 1.1650 zone amid decent gains in a context of renewed selling pressure on the US Dollar. However, the duration and extension of this bounce should be put to the test amid the unabated tensions in the Middle East.

GBP/USD meets resistance around 1.3400

In line with its risk-linked peers, GBP/USD stages a modest comeback on Wednesday, although meeting some resistance around the 1.3400 neighbourhood. Cable’s humble recovery comes on the back of the fresh downward bias in the Greenback amid a marginal improvement in the global sentiment and steady geopolitical effervescence.

Gold flirts with $5,200 amid safe haven demand

Gold partially fades Tuesday’s sharp pullback, regaining the $5,200 mark per troy ounce on the back of the resurgence of investors’ demand for the safe-haven space. The precious metal remains well propped up by the deterioration of the geopolitical scenario in the Middle East, while the softer tone in the US Dollar collaborates with the uptick.