Forex Today: Dollar wins on risk aversion, ECB passes unnoticed

What you need to know on Friday, April 23:

The European Central Bank had a monetary policy meeting. As widely anticipated, European policymakers decided to leave rates unchanged. President Lagarde repeated well-known concepts, acknowledging signs of economic improvement but conditioned further progress to the pandemic developments. Lagarde also noted that the central bank didn’t discuss reducing the PEPP and that they will continue buying bonds at a faster pace.  She reiterated that the near-term outlook is clouded, bud added that a firm rebound in activity is expected later in the year. It was a non-event, leaving room for sentiment-related trading.

The greenback surged within US trading hours, as Wall Street changed course and edged sharply lower. The catalyst was a late reaction to a headline indicating that US President Joe Biden is planning a capital gains tax hike to as high as 43.4%. Meanwhile, Republican senators proposed a$ 568 billion framework that includes funding for bridges, airports, roads and water storage that does not include tax increases.

US Treasury yields ticked lower with the sour sentiment but remained within the previous weekly range.

The  EUR/USD briefly pierced the 1.2000 level, ending the day around it. The pound suffered the most, falling to 1.3823 and finishing the day nearby. The aussie also fell alongside stocks, but the CAD held near its recent highs against the greenback.

Gold prices were down, with the bright metal currently trading at $ 1,782 a troy ounce. Crude oil prices bounced a bit, with WTI settling at around $ 61.60 a barrel.

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