FOREX TODAY: DOT PLOT AND US DOLLAR ANTICIPATION FOR FED POLICY ANNOUNCEMENTS

WHAT YOU SHOULD BE AWARE OF ON WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20 IS AS FOLLOWS:

Early on Wednesday, the US Dollar compared to its main competitors. The USD Index (DXY) fluctuates within a narrow range below 104.00, having ended the previous four trading days. At 18:00 GMT, the Federal Reserve (Fed) will release the updated Summary of Economic Projections, also known as the “dot plot.” Starting at 18:30 GMT, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will hold a press conference to discuss policy and the economic questions.

US DOLLAR EXCHANGE RATE FOR THIS WEEK

The US dollar's (USD) percentage movement compared to a list of major currencies for this week is displayed in the table below. The US dollar outperformed the Japanese yen.

The major currencies' percentage movements relative to one another are displayed on the heat map. The quotation currency is selected from the top row, and the base currency is selected from the left column. For example, the percentage change shown in the box will indicate EUR (base)/JPY (quote) if you select the Euro from the left column and proceed along the horizontal line to the Japanese Yen.

Tuesday saw a tiny decline in the benchmark US Treasury bond, which is currently yielding 4.3%. US stock index futures are slightly lower in the European morning, while the 10-year yield is moving flat at 4.29%. After the meeting in March, it is generally anticipated that the Fed would maintain the current policy rate. The dot plot will be closely examined by investors in an attempt to deduce when policymakers will pivot and how much of a rate cut they anticipate for this year.

Early on Wednesday, the UK's Office for National Statistics said that, according to changes in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), annual inflation fell from 4% in January to 3.4% in February. According to the report's other features, the Producer Price Index - Input fell 2.7%, while the yearly Retail Price Index grew 4.5% as predicted. The GBP/USD pair remains stable at 1.2700 following these figures.

Tuesday's monetary policy statements from the Bank of Japan (BoJ) caused the USD/JPY to spike higher and gain more than 1%. Early on Wednesday, the pair maintained its positive momentum. It was last seen trading over 151.50, which is its best level since November.

On Tuesday, the NZD/USD exchange rate dropped more than 0.5% and fell as low as 0.6030, the lowest point in almost four months. The pair is unable to rally and was last seen trading at roughly 0.6050, slightly lower on the day. During the early trading hours of the Asian session, Statistics New Zealand will release GDP figures for the fourth quarter.