The United States (US) Federal Reserve (Fed) announces its interest rate decision on Wednesday, following another pivotal meeting that could provide key insights into the monetary policy outlook heading into the end of the year.

MUFG’s Henry Cook expects the Bank of England to deliver a hawkish hold, with UK inflation driven higher by energy and headline CPI projected to exceed 4% after the January price cap reset.

Retail Sales in the United States increased to $773.9 billion in August, the US Census Bureau reported on Wednesday. This print reversed the 0.5% contraction recorded in the previous month and came in above market expectations (+0.8%). On a yearly basis, Retail Sales were up 6.0% in this period.

Deutsche Bank’s Shreyas Gopal notes that Bank of England (BoE) meetings have repeatedly seen early market speculation on tightening fade as decisions approach, keeping the Pound stable and EUR/GBP in a narrow range.

Rabobank’s Senior Macro Strategist Bas van Geffen highlights that United Kingdom (UK) inflation matched expectations at 3.1% y/y, with higher energy and fuel prices driving the rise, while core and services Consumer Price Index (CPI) remained unchanged.

The US Dollar (USD) is trading with a firm undertone heading into the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) interest rate decision, supported by a relentless march higher in US Treasury yields that has pushed the 10-year yield to 5.00% and the 2-year yield to 4.66%.

Deutsche Bank’s Henry Allen and colleagues note that the S&P 500 has retreated to a six‑week low as higher Oil prices and stagflation fears weigh on risk assets.

EUR/CAD extends its gains for the second consecutive day, trading around 1.6090 during European hours on Wednesday. Traders are closely watching the European economic calendar, as the seasonally adjusted Eurozone Industrial Production figures for July are scheduled for release later in the day.

Commerzbank’s Antje Praefcke highlights uncertainty over whether Norges Bank will hike in September or wait until December. Inflation remains above target despite a recent downside surprise, while growth is described as close to normal.

Danske Bank’s Danske Research Team observes that global equities closed lower on Tuesday, with Energy the only sector in positive territory as Oil prices surged.

United Kingdom Retail Price Index (YoY) below expectations (3.5%) in August: Actual (3.4%)

USD/IDR halts its four-day winning streak, trading around 17,740 during Asian hours on Wednesday. The pair depreciates as the US Dollar (USD) declines ahead of the interest rate decision by the Federal Reserve (Fed).

Asian equity markets trade with modest gains on Wednesday, tracking stability in US stock index futures, though sentiment remains cautious ahead of the highly anticipated US Federal Reserve (Fed) policy decision.

United States (US) Treasury Yields have hit a pause after posting a fresh multi-year high on Tuesday ahead of the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) monetary policy announcement later in the day.

The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) Governor Pan Gongsheng said on Wednesday that the Chinese central bank will rely less on loan growth targets and more on interest rate tools to guide policy.

The United Kingdom (UK) Office for National Statistics (ONS) will publish the highly anticipated Consumer Price Index (CPI) data for August on Wednesday at 06:00 GMT.

The US Dollar Index (DXY), which measures the value of the US Dollar (USD) against six major currencies, is continuing its winning streak for the sixth consecutive day and trading around 99.70 during Asian hours on Wednesday.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil price declines after two days of gains, trading around $100.50 per barrel during Asian hours on Wednesday. However, crude oil prices may rebound, driven by a series of broadening supply disruptions across the Middle East.

New Zealand Current Account (QoQ) came in at $-1.67B, above forecasts ($-2.57B) in 2Q

New Zealand Current Account - GDP Ratio increased to -3.2% in 2Q from previous -3.6%

Quek Ser Leang at UOB notes USD/CNH remains directionless, trading narrowly around 6.71 with little change in momentum. Intraday, the pair is expected to hold between 6.7060 and 6.7160.

Commerzbank analysts report that USD/IDR extended gains as investors assessed the appointment of Suahasil Nazara as Indonesia’s new Finance Minister, the third in under two years.

Commerzbank’s Volkmar Baur notes that Chinese growth remains export-led as domestic demand stays soft, with investment and retail sales under pressure and car sales slumping.

UOB’s Quek Ser Leang notes USD/SGD extended gains toward 1.2725 as the US Dollar strengthened broadly and Singapore Dollar (SGD) Nominal Effective Exchange Rate (NEER) stayed around 1.65% above its mid-point.

Standard Chartered economists Hunter Chan and Shuang Ding assess China’s July-August data and conclude that domestic demand weakened while production held up.

Commerzbank’s FX analysts Charlie Lay and Moses Lim note that the Korean Won has rallied nearly 15% against the Dollar since late June, driven less by the current account surplus and more by structural shifts in flows.

Nomura’s Josie Anderson, George Buckley and Andrzej Szczepaniak say the latest UK labour data show strong private sector pay but softer employment, with payrolls falling and vacancies at their lowest since early 2021.

Deutsche Bank’s Chief UK Economist Sanjay Raja assesses latest United Kingdom (UK) labour market data as signalling a still weak backdrop, with employment struggling and vacancies falling.

Societe Generale economist Kunal Kundu notes that India’s headline Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation rose to 4.8% year-on-year in August 2026, staying above the Reserve Bank of India ’s (RBI) 4.0% median target for a third month.

ING’s Francesco Pesole notes the Pound has been resilient against the Dollar and EUR/GBP has fallen about 0.5% since Friday, partly on positioning ahead of the Bank of England meeting.