Important Week For The Australian Dollar And Japanese Yen, BoJ And RBA Monetary Policy Decision Ahead
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The US dollar weakened on Monday as investors awaited testimony from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell ahead of February's employment report later in the week, which is likely to influence how much more the US central bank raises interest rates.
After making massive hikes last year, the Fed raised rates by 25 basis points in its last two meetings, but a plethora of resilient economic data fueled market fears that the central bank might return to an aggressive path.
USD/JPY
The yen pair started the week at 136.0380 but failed to stay above 136.00 and fell to 135.3890. After this fall, the USD/JPY pair rebounded, but at the beginning of the European session it fell again. Also after the second drop, the pair rebounded and managed to break above 136.00, but failed to hold. USD/JPY is trading below 136.00 at 135.94.
The Japanese yen strengthened above 136 to the dollar amid general dollar weakness as investors cautiously awaited Tuesday and Wednesday's congressional testimony from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.
Meanwhile, the yen remains more than 6% below its January highs as Ueda, nominated governor of the Bank of Japan, doubled down on the bank's ultra-easy monetary policy.
During the second parliamentary hearing of the approval process, Ueda stated that the benefits of the BJ stimulus outweigh the negative effects for the current economic scenario, adding that a move to more restrictive policies would only be necessary if inflation increased significantly.
Ahead this week, the Bank of Japan’s (BoJ) monetary policy decision will be made on Friday although the market is not expecting any changes there.
EUR/USD
The EUR/USD pair started trading at 1.0628 and initially traded in the range 1.0625-1.0630. The euro pair then rose to levels around 1.0650, then to above 1.0660. This increase in the European session did not last and the pair dropped to levels around 1.0625.
The euro may end the month slightly higher against the dollar, supported by signals from the European Central Bank about further interest rate hikes. ECB officials continue to point to a 50bps rate hike at its March 16 meeting as a deal done, with the market pricing in another 150bps hike by year-end
GBP/USD
The cable pair started trading at 1.2032 and held in the range of 1.2025-1.2040 in the Asian session. In the European session, the GBP/USD pair, as well as the EUR/USD pair, fell below 1.20, but rebounded and at the time of writing is at 1.2008.
Sterling trading could be stable this week as it's hard to find a catalyst to break the currency out of recent ranges. Any further progress on the UK-EU deal to review post-Brexit trade arrangements in Northern Ireland is unlikely to be worth much more than pound sterling.
AUD/USD
The Australian pair started the week with a dip to the 0.6757 level and then fell to the 0.6743 level. After this decline, the AUD/USD pair rose to 0.6770 but failed to maintain momentum. The last hours of the Asian session for the Australian were in the range of 0.6750-0.6760. With the start of the European session, the AUD/USD pair began a decline, and at the time of writing it reached the level of 0.6728.
The Australian dollar lost some of its gains Monday morning after the Chinese National People's Congress (NPC) released more conservative 2023 GDP forecasts. The forecast is currently at 5%, as opposed to the expected range of 5.5-6%, which could be disappointing for commodity-exporting countries like Australia, but a lower base could allow for a better chance of an upside surprise.
Looking ahead, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will be in the spotlight tomorrow morning with its interest rate decision. The consensus is in favor of another 25 bp rate hike, which will be the 10th rate hike in a row by the central bank. This could cause the Australian dollar to find some support against the US dollar
Source: investing.com, finance.yahoo.com
