It is a somewhat quieter day for announcements, but Fridays tend to bring volatility.

The ECB interest rate meeting caused the euro to drop almost three cents against the USD. This is on the back of the ECB’s plan to extend its ultra-accommodative monetary policy stance until the end of the year. The ECB was meant to further taper their bond buying program in September, but that has now been pushed out to the end of the year at least, pointing towards weaker data and the political upheaval in Italy. The EUR/USD opened at $1.17923 and climbed slowly but surely to a high of $1.18532. Then up steps ECB President Mario Draghi. While outlining the central bank’s monetary policy settings, which included an almost flat path to interest rate rises, investors poured their money into the dollar. This left the euro looking like the ugly duckling of major currencies. It basically fell for the remainder of the session, plummeting to lows of $1.15637. It is not far off those lows at the moment, currently trading at $1.15685. There was no appetite for the pound either, as traders deserted it as well. The GBP/USD opened at $1.33807 before climbing to highs of $1.34464. It then suffered the same fate as its European counterpart and it plunged almost two cents to lows of $1.32566. It is not far off those lows, currently trading at $1.32590.

The Dow promised to deliver, but that was all over by the time the US market opened. The Dow opened at 25,209.54 and fell to a low of 25,128.85. It then posted some solid gains as it rallied to a high of 25,333.08. However, it gave up most of those gains in the same hour it reached its high. It fell as far down as 25,137.00. It is not far off those lows, currently trading at 25,177.90. The Dax was the huge winner from the ECB meeting. The plummeting euro means things in Europe are cheaper to purchase, which is great news for Germany, Europe’s largest economy. Cheap money in Europe is also a positive for the Dax. The Dax opened at 12,827.56 and fell to lows of 12,797.00 quite early. It reversed those losses and remained flat until the ECB meeting. The falling euro meant the Dax rallied for most of the night. It peaked at 13,181.00. It came off those highs slightly to close at 13,148.90.

The day ahead is a rather quiet one for announcements, yet Friday has a knack of bringing out volatility. The announcements today include:

Europe – Final CPI & Final Core CPI, Trade Balance, WPI

Japan – Monetary Policy Statement, BoJ Press Conference, BoJ Policy Rate

UK – CB Leading Index

Canada – Foreign Securities Purchases, Manufacturing Sales

US – Capacity Utilisation Rate, Empire State Manufacturing Index, Industrial Production, TIC Long-Term Purchases, Prelim UoM Consumer Sentiment & Inflation Expectations

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