Soon after Mario Draghi, announced the results of the ECB Meeting, Euro dropped against US Dollar and Japanese Yen. The main reason is Eurozone monetary outlook that's heavy on the loose bias.
Last week, we saw USD/JPY on a flat for almost 24 hours. This morning, it is EUR/USD that displays similar symptom. The many fundamental releases this week is supposed to boost volatility, but uncertainty caused by authorities' vague intents has made the market wary.
If last week spotlight is in the US, then this week we see shifts to Asia. Several PMI report that indicates business climate will be released today and followed by some mid-impact fundamental datas from German, UK, and Japan in the following days. However, after FOMC hullabaloo ends and Ukraine geopolitical tension faded, heads turn to Asia.
Janet Yellen explicitly stated the possibility of an interest rate hike around six months after the end of quantitative easing. The statement push USD higher across the charts.
Some fundamentals that will continue to play a big part this week; ECB officials' complaints about the high Euro, geopolitical risks post-Crimean referendum, and alarming news from China.
Developing nations are trying to in maintain a stable exchange rate for their currencies. However, developed countries do not seem to have the same view. Why so?
In the midst of loose monetary trends in developed countries' central banks, Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) set to lift interest rate instead. Since last December, many have quoted RBNZ intention to finish 2014 with higher interest rates than the last three years. New Zealand's interest rates, which commonly called Official Cash Rate (OCR), is going to be upped in order to restrain the pace of inflation rate in the country.
People find reasons to complain about tight policies as well as loose policies. The situation becomes more intriguing when the economy requires incentives to encourage growth, as is currently seen in the US and EU.
Yesterday, Reuters reported that USD strengthened against major currencies due to geopolitic tensions in Ukraine. However, it didn't last for long. Yellen's congressional testimony weighted on USD, and push it down in most of major pairs. Risk avoidance led investors to turn into JPY and CHF instead. These two topics will be the center of discussions in the market for some time onward.