ECB could commit to further reducing its balance sheet, providing ongoing support to EUR – Crédit Agricole

EUR/USD eases toward the 1.1700 mark in early Europe on Friday. The pair faces headwinds from a renewed uptick in the US Dollar as investors look past softer US inflation data. However, the EUR/USD downside appears capped by expectations of Fed-ECB monetary policy divergence. 

The GBP/USD pair stalls the previous day's pullback from the vicinity of mid-1.3400s and a nearly two-month high, though it struggles to attract meaningful buyers during the Asian session on Friday. Spot prices currently trade around the 1.3380-1.3385 region, up only 0.05% for the day, amid mixed cues.

Gold extends the previous day's late pullback from the vicinity of the record high and attracts some follow-through selling during the Asian session on Friday. The US CPI report released on Thursday pointed to cooling of inflationary pressure.

Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Ripple are extending their correction phases after losing nearly 3%, 8%, and 10%, respectively, through Friday. The pullback phase is further strengthened as the upcoming Bank of Japan’s rate decision on Friday weighs on risk sentiment, with BTC breaking key support, ETH deepening weekly losses, and XRP sliding to multi-month lows.

The Bank of England has cut rates to 3.75%, but the decision was more hawkish than expected, leaving market rates higher and sterling slightly stronger. It's a close call whether the Bank cuts again in February or March.

Ethereum price today: $2,920. The EF noted that Ethereum's growing state could lead to centralization and weaken censorship resistance. The Stateless Consensus team outlined state expiry, state archive and partial statelessness as potential solutions to the growing state load.