As expected, the ECB left monetary policy unchanged yesterday. Furthermore, the central bank maintained that interest rates are at a level that should significantly contribute to returning inflation to 2%.
Meanwhile, at the press conference, President Lagarde stated that the ECB will have much more data in June’s meeting, implying that an April rate decrease is unlikely.
In the immediate wake of the meeting’s announcement, market rate expectations fell slightly. However, as the day went on, the euro recovered its losses, while the dollar experienced some downward pressure.
Today’s focus will be on February’s US labour market data. Payrolls are expected to rise by 200k, down from a 353k increase in January. The unemployment rate is predicted to continue at 3.7%, while average earnings growth will decrease. The date represents some event risk for the dollar today.