Fed Kashkari Comments Didn t Bring Life into Mostly Sideways Dealings actionforex.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from actionforex.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Japanese GDP unexpectedly contracted in Q4 of last year. Shrinking 0.1% q/q after a -0.8% contraction in Q3 puts the island in a technical recession. Net exports’ contribution was insufficient to make up for weak business spending and private consumption. Waning demand complicates the picture for the Bank of Japan which is looking to exit its ultra-easy monetary policy. While today’s data doesn’t derail those plans per se, it does suggest the window of opportunity may be closing. The Japanese yen advances this morning but that has more to do with intervention speculation after USD/JPY topped the 150 barrier two days ago. The pair is still hovering north of that level as of this morning.
Sterling faced a broad decline today following release of UK CPI data, which indicated that inflation slowed more significantly than anticipated. This unexpected deceleration in inflation has led markets and economists to quickly adjust their expectations for BoE rate cut. The markets are now fully pricing the first 25bps reduction as early as May, with projections suggesting interest rates could drop to 4% or lower by the end of 2024. Notably, Goldman Sachs has also moved forward its forecast for BoE's interest-rate cut from June to May.
Rates Spark: All About Inflation menafn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from menafn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.