CB’s Day - 7.2.2013

The single currency is traded against the dollar just above the support level of 1.35 before the ECB meeting is held. The trend remains bullish, but the growth is slowed down this week. Market participants do not expect any change in the central bank policy, but we will be following Mario Draghi’s comments on recent currency strengthening and its possible implications for the regional economy. The ECB decision on rates will be known at 13:45 CET and there will also be a press conference with the head of the ECB at 14:30 CET. The BOE also has the meeting on the Monetary Policy scheduled for today. The interest rate and asset purchase program decisions will be announced at 13:00 CET. Markets do not expect any changes. The British pound against the US dollar is traded in a narrow range (1.5644-1.5672), near 6-month lows. Australian dollar has won back some ground this morning after falling against the US dollar to 11-week low at 1.0295. The pair has found support at 1.03 and 200-daily moving average. During the Asian trading session, it was trading in the range 1.0295-1.0337 amid the output of good labor market statistics in Australia. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the number of employed people increased by 10 400, with the unemployment rate remained at 5.4%, although it is expected to be increased. However, the fact that employment growth has occurred due to increasing the number of part-time workers raises concerns.