Makro

MUFG’s Derek Halpenny notes the US Dollar is broadly steady as resilient US equities and strong earnings temper risk aversion despite escalating Middle East tensions and a prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

BNY’s Bob Savage notes the US Dollar (USD) is entering the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting with strengthening demand, including a first five-day net purchase streak in three months and rising use of USD cash and short-term instruments.

USD/CAD trades with a mild downside bias on Wednesday ahead of the Bank of Canada’s (BoC) interest rate decision due at 13:45 GMT.

TD Securities’ Global Strategy Team expects the Federal Reserve to keep the policy rate at 3.50–3.75% at the April FOMC meeting, describing the Committee as patient given balanced labor markets and oil-driven headline inflation.

Societe Generale analysts notes that the Bank of Canada (BoC) is expected to keep its policy rate at 2.25% for a fourth consecutive meeting, while higher inflation expectations could push rates toward the neutral range midpoint later this year.

The Euro (EUR) edges higher against the British Pound (GBP) for the second consecutive day on Wednesday, although it remains contained within the weekly range, with upside attempts capped below the 0.8680 area for now.

Inflation in Germany, as measured by the change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), rose to 2.9% (preliminary estimate) in April from 2.7% in March. This print came in below the market expectation of 3%. On a monthly basis, the CPI was up 0.6%, as anticipated.

Deutsche Bank economists expect the Federal Reserve (Fed) to keep rates on hold, with markets focused on forward guidance and any shift toward more two‑sided language.

The GBP/USD pair is broadly sideways around 1.3500 during the European trading session on Wednesday. The Cable consolidates as investors await monetary policy announcements by the Federal Reserve (Fed) and the Bank of England (BoE).

The US Dollar (USD) nudges higher for the second consecutive day against the Japanese Yen (JPY) on Wednesday, trading at 159.75 at the time of writing, with the key 160.00 level, considered a line in the sand for Tokyo intervention, coming closer.