Currency Market Remains Steady Ahead of Powell’s Speech as Bitcoin Continues to Rally
By Samuel Indyk and Brigid Riley
On Wednesday, the U.S. dollar was slightly weaker as traders awaited Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s congressional testimony and the European Central Bank’s policy announcement on Thursday.
Bitcoin was gaining momentum but staying below the previous day’s record high.
The lack of significant catalysts kept pressure on the dollar after Tuesday’s data showed a slowdown in the U.S. services industry.
Traders were looking for Powell to provide insight on the economy and the possibility of rate cuts during his testimony.
Market expectations suggest a potential synchronized easing cycle from both the Fed and ECB this year, starting in June.
The euro was slightly up against the dollar as traders anticipated the ECB’s interest rate decision on Thursday.
The yen strengthened amid reports that some Bank of Japan members were considering raising rates from negative territory in March.
Sterling inched up ahead of the British budget announcement, while the Australian dollar rebounded despite weak GDP data.
The dollar index was down, and attention was also on bitcoin and ether as cryptocurrencies continued to attract investor interest.
(Reporting by Samuel Indyk and Brigid Riley; Editing by Shri Navaratnam, Lincoln Feast and Sharon Singleton.)
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