The USD is in demand. Overview for 08.02.2019

At the end of the week, the major currency pair tested its 10 days low and is still under pressure.  

EURUSD is looking very weak on Friday. The current quote for the instrument is 1.1345. 

There won’t be any statistics from the USA today, so the market is consolidating. However, there are some other catalysts among fundamental news, which are not directly connected to numbers.  

A lot of attention was paid to the interview given by the former US Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen. Answering questions on CNBC, Yellen said that the next move of the regulator might be the rate reduction. It would be timely and justified, if the slowdown in global economic growth had impact on the USA as well.

Yellen explained that the latest Chinese statistics were looking rather weak and the numbers from Europe were also raising concerns. In this light, the slowdown in global economic growth may become a serious and massive threat to the USA.

Had Yellen been asked last December about the regulator’s monetary policy for 2019, she would have predicted two rate hikes. But now, according to her own perception, uncertainty is increasing. 

As a reminder, in December 2018 the US Federal Reserve increased the benchmark rate up to 2.25-2.50% by adding 25 basis points. In January 2019, the regulator’s meeting was rather neutral and the rate remained unchanged.