Forex Today: Trump and the Fed poured some cold water

FXStreet Team FXStreet

Here is what you need to know on Wednesday, March 18th:

The American dollar stands as the strongest at the end of the day, initially supported by continued demand for the greenback, amid risk-off. The US government announced multiple measures to fight against the ongoing crisis, bringing relief to markets. Wall Street closed in the green, Treasury yields bounced, and the dollar gave up some ground, still the overall winner.
The coronavirus keeps spreading in Europe exponentially, staying as the epicentre of the outbreak. Italy is expecting the peak by the next weekend. The EU has closed borders for 30 days. The run to safety is not yet over.
UK PM Johnson, in a joint statement with Finance Minister Sunak, declared that they must “do more and faster,” to stop the disease spreading and to no not overwhelm the health system. Pound recovered modestly with the news, although GBP/USD settled below 1.2100 after trading as low as 1.20.
EUR/USD fell below 1.1000, ending the day nearby, while commodity-linked currencies were the worst performers. Crude oil prices plummeted with WTI trading at $26.70 a barrel by the end of the day.
The USD/JPY recovered, settling just below 108.00 a major Fibonacci resistance level. Gold also bounced amid easing dollar’s demand.
Crypto Today: Bitcoin must hold $5000 this time or face much punishment from bears

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EUR/USD remains below 1.1850 after US data

EUR/USD struggles to gain traction and trades in a narrow range below 1.1850 on Wednesday. The US Dollar stays resilient against its rivals following the better-than-expected Durable Goods Orders and housing data, limiting the pair's upside ahead of FOMC Minutes.

GBP/USD flirts with daily highs near 1.3580

GBP/USD manages to set aside two consecutive daily declines and trades with slight gains in the 1.3580 zone on Wednesday. Cable’s uptick comes despite acceptable gains in the Greenback and easing UK inflation figures, which seem to have reinforced the case for a BoE rate cut in March.

Gold regains some shine, retargets $5,000 ahead of FOMC Minutes

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.

Pi Network rally defies market pressure ahead of its first anniversary

Pi Network is trading above $0.1900 at press time on Wednesday, extending the weekly gains by nearly 8% so far. The steady recovery is supported by a short-term pause in mainnet migration, which reduces pressure on the PI token supply for Centralized Exchanges. The technical outlook focuses on the $0.1919 resistance as bullish momentum increases.

Mixed UK inflation data no gamechanger for the Bank of England

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.

Top 3 Price Prediction: Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Ripple face downside risk as bears regain control

Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Ripple remain under pressure on Wednesday, with the broader trend still sideways. BTC is edging below $68,000, nearing the lower consolidating boundary, while ETH and XRP also declined slightly, approaching their key supports.