Dollar Hit a Seven-Week High

USD
On Wednesday, the Greenback hit a seven-week high on growing expectations that the Federal Reserve is seriously considering raising interest rates at the next meeting.  Consequently, William Dudley, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, said the case for tightening monetary policy "has become a lot more compelling." In addition, John Williams, San Francisco Fed President, expressed his optimism about interest rates hikes and said a rate increase was considerably a lot to be taken into serious consideration at the March meeting given full employment and accelerating inflation.

• The U.S. dollar index rose to 102 pips before recovering to 101.70.

Gold
Gold was widely affected by Fed officials and settled below $1,236 before recovering to $1,250, due to comments by the U.S. vice President Mike Pence as he said that Donald Trump could soften his immigration stance.

GBP
The Sterling pound expanded its losses to settle below $1.23 vs. USD. Cable is trading under pressure due to uncertainty over “Brexit” and EU’s political outlook. Technically, GBP could decline further during the next period due to Brexit negotiations with the EU, amid fears Scotland will demand another independence referendum when the UK government triggers Brexit.

Oil
Oil fell yesterday as U.S. crude inventories rose last week to historical high levels, increasing by 1.5 million barrels to 520.2 million barrels, continuing an eight-week streak of increases. In addition, U.S. crude declined to 53.60, depressed by a strong USD. Technically, it could face a support at $53.50. 

• CAD Gross Domestic Product (YoY) (DEC): (GMT 13:30) – Important – Forecast (1.7%) – Previous (1.6%).
• CAD Quarterly Gross Domestic Product Annualized (4Q): (GMT 13:30) – Important – Forecast (2.0%) – Previous (3.5%)
• JPY National Consumer Price Index (YoY) (JAN): (GMT 23:30) – Important – Forecast (0.4%) – Previous (0.3%)

Disclaimer
The prices and news mentioned in this outlook are absolutely no guarantee of future market performance and do not represent the view of ICM Capital Limited. Financial markets can move in either direction causing profits to be made or complete losses to be incurred by the trader. Each trader must decide for themselves what their risk appetite is and ensure that correct risk management procedures are in place before placing any trades.