March 17, 2023
EUR/USD: The European currency is growing during the trading session on Friday and is holding near 1.0750. The euro was supported by the European Central Bank’s decision to raise the rate by 50 basis points. The interest rate was increased from 3% to 3.5%. Most experts believed that in a banking crisis, the regulator could pause the interest rate cycle or increase the rate by a step of 25 basis points, but this did not happen, as officials considered the problem of inflation more important than the problem of financial stability. We also note that the problems of the Credit Suisse Group bank were also resolved by providing it with a loan of 50 billion francs by the Central Bank of Switzerland. Given the above, the growth of the euro may continue.
BUY STOP 1.0700/TP 1.0800/SL 1.0670
AUD/USD: The AUD/USD pair is growing and is trading at 0.6700. Positive sentiment came from strong data on the Australian labor market. The unemployment rate fell from 3.7% to 3.5% versus the expected 3.6%, reaching a 50-year low, and overall employment increased by 64.6 thousand instead of the expected 48.5 thousand. The Australian labor market remains strong which may indicate that there are still fundamental reasons for rising inflation. However, experts expect that Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) officials will soon complete the cycle of interest rate increases, as they believe that the peak of price growth in the country has already passed. Taking into account improving market sentiment, the growth of the AUD/USD pair may continue today.
BUY STOP 0.6750/TP 0.6850/SL 0.6720
Brent: Brent crude is consolidating near $75 per barrel. The pressure on quotes is exerted by fears of the development of the banking crisis and the growth of oil reserves in the US. According to the latest report from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), oil inventories last week rose by 1.55 million barrels, which was higher than forecasts of 1.18 million barrels. It’s also worth noting the latest comments made by OPEC + representatives. In their opinion, the fall in oil prices this week was caused only by fears of financial instability and has nothing to do with the imbalance of supply and demand in the market, so the market is expected to stabilize soon. Today, oil quotes may show positive dynamics against the backdrop of profit-taking before the weekend.
BUY STOP 75.50/TP 77.50/SL 74.80