Here is what you need to know on Thursday, March 9:
Following Tuesday impressive rally, the US Dollar Index (DXY) closed flat on Wednesday and edged slightly lower early Thursday. Investors seem to have moved to the sidelines ahead of Friday's eagerly-awaited February jobs report from the US. Later in the session, weekly Initial Jobless Claims will be featured in the US economic docket.
On the second day of his semi-annual testimony, FOMC Chairman Jerome Powell said that they have not yet made any decisions about the March policy meeting and reminded that they are data-dependent. Meanwhile, the data from the US showed that employment in the private sector increased by 242,000 in February. Nevertheless, the DXY spent the day moving up and down in a narrow channel and the benchmark 10-year US Treasury bond yield registered small gains on Wednesday. Wall Street's main indexes closed mixed after having suffered heavy losses on Tuesday.
Following its March policy meeting, the Bank of Canada (BoC) announced left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 4.5% as expected. In its policy statement, the BoC repeated that it intends to hold the rate at this level, "conditional on the economy developing broadly in line with its forecasts." USD/CAD continued to push higher and touched its strongest level since October at 1.3817 before retreating to the 1.3800 area early Thursday.
USD/JPY turned south during the Asian trading hours on Thursday and broke below 137.00. The data from Japan showed that the real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew at an annualized rate of 0.1% in the fourth quarter, missing the market expectation of 0.8% by a wide margin. On Friday, the Bank of Japan will announce its monetary policy decisions at the last policy meeting led by Governor Haruhiko Kuroda.
EUR/USD failed to make a decisive move in either direction on Wednesday. The pair continues to move up and down in a narrow channel at around 1.0550 in the European morning on Thursday.
GBP/USD registered small daily gains on Wednesday and edged slightly higher toward 1.1850 early Thursday. The UK's Office for National Statistics will release the GDP, Industrial Production and Trade Balance data for January on Friday.
Gold price managed to hold above $1,810 on Wednesday as the US Treasury bond yields held steady. Early Thursday, the benchmark 10-year US T-bond yield is testing 4%, not allowing XAU/USD to gain traction.
Bitcoin extended its weekly slide and lost nearly 3% on the day, touching its lowest level since mid-February near $21,500. BTC/USD stays relatively quiet in the European morning and fluctuates at around $21,700. Ethereum continued to push lower and came within a touching distance of $1,500 on Wednesday before recovering modestly on Thursday. ETH/USD was last seen rising 0.5% on the day at $1,540.
Information on these pages contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Markets and instruments profiled on this page are for informational purposes only and should not in any way come across as a recommendation to buy or sell in these assets. You should do your own thorough research before making any investment decisions. FXStreet does not in any way guarantee that this information is free from mistakes, errors, or material misstatements. It also does not guarantee that this information is of a timely nature. Investing in Open Markets involves a great deal of risk, including the loss of all or a portion of your investment, as well as emotional distress. All risks, losses and costs associated with investing, including total loss of principal, are your responsibility. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of FXStreet nor its advertisers. The author will not be held responsible for information that is found at the end of links posted on this page.
If not otherwise explicitly mentioned in the body of the article, at the time of writing, the author has no position in any stock mentioned in this article and no business relationship with any company mentioned. The author has not received compensation for writing this article, other than from FXStreet.
FXStreet and the author do not provide personalized recommendations. The author makes no representations as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability of this information. FXStreet and the author will not be liable for any errors, omissions or any losses, injuries or damages arising from this information and its display or use. Errors and omissions excepted.
The author and FXStreet are not registered investment advisors and nothing in this article is intended to be investment advice.
Recommended content
Editors’ Picks
USD/JPY pops and drops on BoJ's expected hold
USD/JPY reverses a knee-jerk spike to 142.80 and returns to the red below 142.50 after the Bank of Japan announced on Friday that it maintained the short-term rate target in the range of 0.15%-0.25%, as widely expected. Governor Ueda's press conference is next in focus.
AUD/USD bears attack 0.6800 amid PBOC's status-quo, cautious mood
AUD/USD attacks 0.6800 in Friday's Asian trading, extending its gradual retreat after the PBOC unexpectedly left mortgage lending rates unchanged in September. A cautious market mood also adds to the weight on the Aussie. Fedspeak eyed.
Gold consolidates near record high, bullish potential seems intact
Gold price regained positive traction on Thursday and rallied back closer to the all-time peak touched the previous day in reaction to the Federal Reserve's decision to start the policy easing cycle with an oversized rate cut.
Ethereum rallies over 6% following decision to split Pectra upgrade into two phases
In its Consensus Layer Call on Thursday, Ethereum developers decided to split the upcoming Pectra upgrade into two batches. The decision follows concerns about potential risks in shipping the previously approved series of Ethereum improvement proposals.
Bank of Japan set to keep rates on hold after July’s hike shocked markets
The Bank of Japan is expected to keep its short-term interest rate target between 0.15% and 0.25% on Friday, following the conclusion of its two-day monetary policy review. The decision is set to be announced during the early Asian session.
Moneta Markets review 2024: All you need to know
VERIFIED In this review, the FXStreet team provides an independent and thorough analysis based on direct testing and real experiences with Moneta Markets – an excellent broker for novice to intermediate forex traders who want to broaden their knowledge base.