AUD/USD REFRESHES DAY HIGH NEAR 0.6650 AS UPBEAT AUSSIE EMPLOYMENT STEMS MORE RATES FROM RBA

Less-hawkish stance looks likely by Federal Reserve

A few days back, market participants were anticipating bigger rates announcement from the Federal Reserve (Fed) as January’s United States economic data conveyed the inflation outlook is extremely stubborn. However, the release of the downbeat US Retail Sales and lower-than-anticipated Producer Price Index (PPI) figures on Wednesday after softening of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the print of a higher Unemployment Rate have conveyed that January’s data was a one-time blip. This has cemented the odds of the continuation of smaller rate hikes. Also, fresh fears of banking sector turmoil have opened doors for a steady monetary policy.

Along with bringing down persistent inflation, restoring of investors’ confidence after the Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) collapse, has become an important Key Responsibility Area (KRA) for Fed chair Jerome Powell.