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ECB Fails to Move the Needle

FOREX

The ECB rate decision came and went with little material market impact. EUR/USD was bid up to touch 1.2173, a new weekly high, but an uneventful press conference with ECB President Lagarde saw profit-taking take the rate to the mid-1.21s. This kept the technical picture broadly unchanged, with focus on the 50-dma support at 1.2107 and the near-term upside target of 1.2223. Source-based reports from Bloomberg failed to move the needle, after news suggested the ECB were seeking new gauges to measure financial conditions.

CAD hit new cycle highs against the USD after comments from BoC's Macklem. The BoC governor stated that Canada will not need as much QE over time under their base case scenario - leading to a new multi-year low of 1.2590.

The USD, JPY were the weakest currencies in G10, while NOK, SEK were he best performers Thursday.

Focus Friday turns to UK and Canadian retail sales as well as the prelim January PMI numbers from across the Eurozone, UK and US. There are no central bank speakers of note, although the ECB release their latest survey of professional forecasters.

MNI London Bureau | +44 203-865-3809 | edward.hardy@marketnews.com
MNI London Bureau | +44 203-865-3809 | edward.hardy@marketnews.com

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