Dollar Weakens, Markets Digest Central Bank Decisions Amid Energy Shock
The US dollar weakened slightly against major currencies on Thursday (March 19), as market participants tended to hedge risk in equities amid a series of central bank policy decisions. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.1% after gaining 0.5% on Wednesday, driven by hawkish comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell and a surge in oil prices.
Energy shocks again took center stage. European natural gas prices surged 35% after an Iranian missile attack damaged the world's largest LNG export facility. On the geopolitical front, President Donald Trump stated on Truth Social that the US knew "nothing" about Israel's attack on Iran's South Pars gas field and was "not involved at all," which put pressure on stocks earlier in the session.
In the currency market, USD/JPY fell 0.5% to 159.04 after Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama emphasized the high urgency of the yen's movements and stated that authorities were ready to respond at any time. EUR/CHF rose 0.3% to 0.9110 after SNB President Martin Schlegel said the threshold for returning to negative interest rates remains high. EUR/SEK pared losses to around 10.7757 following the Riksbank's decision.
GBP/USD rose 0.1% to 1.3275, while AUD/USD briefly rose as much as 0.5% to 0.7056 before paring gains. In Australia, February unemployment remained relatively low amid rising employment, reinforcing the view that the economy remains resilient enough to withstand tighter monetary policy. (alg)
Source: Newsmaker.id
