The US Currency Has Strengthened Relative to the Majors

The US dollar moved away from the low and strengthened against the basket of major currencies after the publication of strong economic reports from the US. Thus, the number of issued building permits increased by 2.5% to 1.354 million, while investors expected a value of 1.330 million. The volume of industrial production increased by 0.5%, instead of the expected value of 0.3%. The US dollar index (#DX) closed in the positive zone (+0.09%) yesterday.

Yesterday, an ambiguous report on the labor market in the UK was also published. The average wage growth remained at the same level of 2.8% instead of the forecasted value of 3.0%. At the same time, the number of jobless claims decreased to 11.6 thousand, although last month the value was 15.1 thousand. Euro was under pressure after the publication of ZEW economic sentiment index in Germany, the value of which counted to -8.2, while experts expected -0.8.

The "black gold" prices are growing against the decrease in weekly stocks of raw materials in the US according to the American Petroleum Institute. At the moment, futures for the WTI crude oil are testing a mark of $67.00 per barrel. At 17:30 (GMT+3:00), a report on the US crude oil inventories will be published.

Market Indicators

Yesterday, the bullish sentiment was observed in the US stock market: #SPY (+0.82%), #DIA (+0.84%), #QQQ (+0.76%).

At the moment, the 10-year US government bonds yield is at the level of 2.82-2.83%.

- Consumer price index in the UK at 11:30 (GMT+3:00);
- Consumer price index in the Eurozone at 12:00 (GMT+3:00);
- Bank of Canada's decision on the interest rate at 17:00 (GMT+3:00);
- "Beige Book" of the Fed at 21:00 (GMT+3:00).

We also recommend paying attention to the speeches of the FOMC representatives.

by JustMarkets, 2018.04.18

This article reflects a personal opinion and should not be interpreted as an investment advice, and/or offer, and/or a persistent request for carrying out financial transactions, and/or a guarantee, and/or a forecast of future events.