Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) Economist Abbey Xu reports that Canadian cardholder spending strengthened modestly in March, with underlying activity stabilizing even as discretionary goods remained soft.
Beth Hammack, President of the Federal Reserve (Fed) Bank of Cleveland, told CNBC in an interview on Wednesday that the key data to watch out for is how high energy prices get, but most importantly how long they stay high.
Ripple (XRP) is navigating a period of subdued volatility, trading around $1.35 at the time of writing on Wednesday. The suppressed outlook follows a rejection from highs around $1.40 and reflects fragile sentiment in the broader crypto market amid geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
Scotiabank strategists Shaun Osborne and Eric Theoret say the Canadian Dollar (CAD) is slightly softer but continues to narrow its undervaluation versus the Dollar, with fair value around 1.3542. They stress that further CAD gains depend on fading USD haven demand.
Brown Brothers Harriman argues that with risk sentiment likely having bottomed on March 30, the Dollar Index should revert to trading primarily on rate differentials.
Standard Chartered revises its Japan macro outlook, cutting 2026 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth to 0.7% and raising Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation to 2.0% on a worsening terms-of-trade shock from higher Oil and a weak Japanese Yen (JPY).
Rabobank Senior FX Strategist Jane Foley discusses EUR/GBP in light of shifting expectations for the European Central Bank (ECB) and Bank of England (BoE). She notes that EUR/GBP has traded with a downside bias recently but sees this fading as spring progresses.
Societe Generale’s Kit Juckes discusses whether the US Dollar’s global dominance is under threat as global imbalances widen and IMF meetings highlight systemic risks.
Gold (XAU/USD) retreats on Wednesday as the US Dollar (USD) shows signs of stabilization after seven consecutive days of losses, while evolving Middle East developments continue to shape broader market sentiment.
AUD/USD rises on Wednesday and trades around 0.7140 at the time of writing, up 0.28% on the day. The pair benefits from an improved risk environment after reports suggested that new discussions could take place between the United States (US) and Iran before the two-week ceasefire expires.
ING strategist Michiel Tukker stresses that current Oil volatility is feeding directly into rate expectations for the European Central Bank (ECB), Federal Reserve (Fed) and Bank of England (BoE).
The cryptocurrency market is broadly correcting on Wednesday following modest early-week gains that pushed Bitcoin (BTC) to highs around $76,000.
The US Dollar (USD) is posting moderate gains against the Japanese Yen (JPY) on Wednesday, returning to levels past 159.00 to partially reverse the 0.5% depreciation witnessed over the last two days.
DBS Group Research’s Philip Wee notes that the US Dollar (USD) has given back most of its Iran‑war related strength, with the US Dollar Index (DXY) down this month and nearing pre‑conflict levels.