| Time | Country | Event | Period | Previous value | Forecast | Actual |
|---|
| 01:45 | China | Markit/Caixin Manufacturing PMI | March | 50.9 | 51 | 51.1 |
During today's Asian trading, the US dollar consolidated against major currencies, while investors continued to analyze the latest US data indicating a decrease in inflation. Meanwhile, trading activity is likely to be subdued today as European markets will be closed.
The US Dollar Currency Index (DXY), which tracks the dynamics of the dollar against six currencies (euro, swiss franc, yen, canadian dollar, pound sterling and swedish krona) fell by 0.02% to 104.42. The report presented on Friday showed that the personal consumption expenditures price index (PCE) rose 0.3% in February, compared with the 0.4% rise that economists had forecast. After the data was released, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said that the data "is consistent with what we would like to see," adding that the US central bank remained on track to hit its long-term inflation target of 2%. He said that while the recent inflation data were higher than the Fed would have liked, the February figures were "definitely more along the lines of what we want to see." Powell also addressed the question of where interest rates could settle over the longer term, suggesting they were unlikely to return to the historic lows seen after the 2008 global financial crisis. According to the CME FedWatch Tool, markets see a 3.9% probability of a 25 basis point rate cut at the Fed meeting in May, and a 68.5% probability of a rate cut in June (compared to 70.1% a week earlier).
The value of the yen did not change against the US dollar, while traders were cautious due to threats of intervention. The yen touched a 34-year low against the dollar of 151.975 on Wednesday and was last at 151.34 per dollar. Japan intervened in the foreign exchange market in 2022, first in September and then in October, as the yen slid towards a 32-year low of 152 to the dollar. Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said on Monday that he did not rule out any options against excessive currency movements and would respond accordingly, reiterating his warning on rapid yen moves.