Markets look to UK’s central bank as Brexit looms.

The EURUSD spent most of the session below $1.10 as the declines continue for the euro. The pair opened the day at $1.10215 and lifted to an early high of $1.10271. The slide started shortly afterwards with the euro falling to lows of $1.09919 mid-session. It bounced off those lows heading into late trading and is currently at $1.10139. The GBPUSD remained steady overnight after opening the day at $1.30267. The pound ticked up to a high of $1.30286 in the opening hour of trade but then slowly edged down throughout the first half of the day. Mid-session saw the pound hit lows of $1.29883 but it bounced off those lows in late trading. It is now at $1.30215

The latest Fed meeting had no real effect on indices, with the Dow opening and closing flat. The index began the day at 28,795.23 and after an initial dip, it climbed to a high of 28,933.25 late in the day. It came off those highs and fell to lows of 28,697.76 in the last hour of the day. The Dow has opened Thursday slightly higher and is now trading at 28,746.00. The Dax moved in similar fashion as the Dow when it commenced the session at 13,313.40. The German index dipped to lows of 13,283.90 in the opening hour of trade but then rebounded and climbed for most of the day. The Dax peaked at 13,380.40 late in the day before settling at 13,318.45, which is where it is in early Thursday trading.

Markets turn the eye to the next central bank meeting, this time it’s the UK. Interest rates are tipped to remain on hold at 0.75%, but as the UK leaves the EU by the end of the week, it will be important to listen to the commentary from the BoE surrounding this meeting as Brexit will likely have a significant impact to the UK economy. The BoE will likely give some indication as to the direction of monetary policy settings contingent on how the country fares post-Brexit.

Other data published today includes:

Australia – Import Prices

UK – BoE Monetary Policy Report, Monetary Policy Summary, Asset Purchase Facility

US – Advance GDP, Advance GDP Price Index, Unemployment Claims, Natural Gas Storage

Europe – German Prelim CPI, Swiss KOF Economic Barometer, German Unemployment Change, Italian Monthly Unemployment Rate, European Unemployment Rate

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