Overview after the BCE:
"As widely predicted, the ECB announced on Thursday that the key interest rate would remain at 0.00%, with the deposit rate remaining locked in NIRP territory, at -0.4%. During the President of the ECB (Mario Draghi’s) press conference, he outlined how the central bank would continue to provide monetary stimulus, through subsidised investment bank lending, now that their asset/bond purchasing scheme has ended, in December 2018, whilst intimating that any interest rate rises would be unlikely to restart in 2019. The ECB also downgraded their GDP growth projections for the Eurozone. The FX markets immediately sold off the euro, on the basis that the single bloc currency would weaken, in relation to the increasing levels of circulation. EUR/USD slumped to its lowest level since June-July 2017. At 21:30pm U.K. time, the leading, major pair, traded at 1.119, crashing through S3, down -1.00% on the day. Other euro pairs followed similar price action patterns, with EUR/JPY trading down -1.07%. Sterling endured a torrid day of activity during Thursday’s trading sessions, once again, the geo-political issue of Brexit, determined the value of the U.K. pound and direction of its currency pairs. GBP/USD traded at lows not witnessed since February 25th, holding position above the 1.300 handle. At 22:00pm, the currency pair referred to as “cable”, traded at 1.308, down -0.65%, breaching S2 during the sell off. Sterling also sold off sharply versus JPY, trading down -0.80%."
"As widely predicted, the ECB announced on Thursday that the key interest rate would remain at 0.00%, with the deposit rate remaining locked in NIRP territory, at -0.4%. During the President of the ECB (Mario Draghi’s) press conference, he outlined how the central bank would continue to provide monetary stimulus, through subsidised investment bank lending, now that their asset/bond purchasing scheme has ended, in December 2018, whilst intimating that any interest rate rises would be unlikely to restart in 2019. The ECB also downgraded their GDP growth projections for the Eurozone. The FX markets immediately sold off the euro, on the basis that the single bloc currency would weaken, in relation to the increasing levels of circulation. EUR/USD slumped to its lowest level since June-July 2017. At 21:30pm U.K. time, the leading, major pair, traded at 1.119, crashing through S3, down -1.00% on the day. Other euro pairs followed similar price action patterns, with EUR/JPY trading down -1.07%. Sterling endured a torrid day of activity during Thursday’s trading sessions, once again, the geo-political issue of Brexit, determined the value of the U.K. pound and direction of its currency pairs. GBP/USD traded at lows not witnessed since February 25th, holding position above the 1.300 handle. At 22:00pm, the currency pair referred to as “cable”, traded at 1.308, down -0.65%, breaching S2 during the sell off. Sterling also sold off sharply versus JPY, trading down -0.80%."
Per aspera ad astra