Forex Flash: FOMC in focus with Asia and Europe closed - BTMU

FXstreet.com (Barcelona) - Derek Halpenny, European Head of Global Markets Research at the Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ notes that with much of Asia and Europe closed today, by far the main event of the day will be the FOMC announcement at 1900 BST, which will come after the key ISM manufacturing report and the ADP employment report.

He adds that both are important and may shape to some degree the wording of the statement released this evening. Further, he notes that the changes made to the 20th March statement were very much a shift toward better growth and the employment situation had “shown signs of improvement in recent months” and the housing sector had “strengthened further”. He writes, “The FOMC also removed the reference to “downside risks to the economic outlook”. We have only had one employment report since then and hence the ADP today could shape how strongly they reverse the tone set in the March statement. Still, we only expect minor alterations but given the current momentum in favour of dollar selling, that might be enough to trigger further falls over the very short-term.”