Release of the highly anticipated FOMC decision. Asian and European trading sessions:
Euro: The EUR/USD pair showed minimums at the level of $1,4000.
US Dollar: On Wednesday the US dollar showed its temporary rehabilitation against the major currencies due to the mid-term US Congress elections’ results, where the Republican party got a majority in the House of Representatives. But the expectations for the FOMC decision release and anticipation for the start of the next quantitative easing round kept the greenback under pressure.
British Pound: The GBP/USD pair traded around the $1,6050 mark.
Japanese Yen: The Japanese financial markets were closed today due to the national holiday -Culture Day celebration.
Oil: The oil prices continued to stabilize due to the greenback weakness ahead of the FOMC decision. The oil rate trading reached the level of $85.00 per barrel. American trading session:
Euro: Correlation with risk trends continued to be the main driver for the EUR/USD trading direction.
US Dollar: According to the released today FOMC decision, the key overnight lending rate was kept unchanged at the previous level of 0.25 %. According to the FRS statement, the rates would remain “exceptionally low” for the “extended period”.
The quantitative easing measures included total asset purchases of $850 billion to $900 billion through June and $75 billion per month. FOMC also pointed out the slow economical growth rate and high unemployment rate.
The released US fundamentals turned out to be rather positive. The ADP employment change for October showed unexpected growth for 43K compared to the forecasted growth for 20K. The ISM non-manufacturing composite index for October increased to 54.3 against the forecasted 53.5. And the Factory orders grew in September for 2.1%, which was also above expectations.
