The US dollar strengthened against a basket of major currencies despite weak economic statistics. Thus, the number of building permits decreased to 1,296M in February, while experts forecasted 1,320M. CB consumer confidence index fell to 124.1 in March instead of the expected value of 132.0. The dollar index (#DX) updated weekly highs and closed the trading session in the positive zone (+0.25%).
Today, during the Asian session, the New Zealand dollar has been collapsed after the RBNZ meeting. The regulator decided on the key interest rate and left it unchanged at 1.75%. The Central Bank announced that in the near future it was ready to consider the issue of lowering interest rates.
Financial market participants are still interested in Brexit. It should be recalled that on Monday, parliamentarians voted to take control of the Brexit process instead of Theresa May. Today, a meeting of the Parliament should be held, at which officials will vote for various options for the country’s exit from the block. Parliament will consider an option of “softer” Brexit, its delay or even its cancellation. However, it is still unclear which option the majority will vote for. It became known that Parliament considered the draft of Theresa May’s deal as the best alternative to the “hard” scenario or the rejection of Brexit.
The “black gold” prices are maintaining current levels. At the moment, futures for the WTI crude oil are testing the mark of $59.85 per barrel. At 16:30 (GMT+2:00), a report on crude oil inventories will be published in the US.
Market Indicators
- Yesterday, the bullish sentiment was observed in the US stock market: #SPY (+0.75%), #DIA (+0.54%), #QQQ (+0.47%).
- The 10-year US government bonds yield is declining. Currently, the indicator is at the level of 2.39-2.40%.
The news feed on 27.03.2019:
- Today, the publication of important economic data is not expected. We recommend paying attention to the statistics on the US trade balance at 14:30 (GMT+2:00).
