- USDTHB: moving in the range 35.89-35.98 this morning supportive level at 35.70 resistance level at 36.00
· SET Index: 1,373.2 (-0.67%), 20 Mar 2024
· S&P 500 Index: 5,224.6 (-0.89%), 20 Mar 2024
· Thai 10-year government bond yield (interpolated): 2.55 (-0.55 bps), 20 Mar 2024
· US 10-year treasury yield: 4.27 (-3.00 bps), 20 Mar 2024
- Fed keeps rates steady, still sees three rate cuts this year
- BOJ chief vows to support economy with monetary stimulus
- Japan manufacturing activity improves in March, services strong
- Dollar weakens after Fed meeting, yen strengthens
Fed keeps rates steady, still sees three rate cuts this year The Federal Reserve kept rates steady and maintained forecasts for three rate-cuts this year, pointing to the central bank’s confidence that the recent strength in inflation is unlikely to derail the progress made so far. The Federal Open Market Committee, the FOMC, kept its benchmark rate in a range of 5.25% to 5.5%. The decision to keep rates steady for the fifth meeting in a row was widely expected as the Fed chair Jerome Powell previously hinted that March was too soon for the members to have enough confidence from incoming economic data to cut rates. Fed members continue to see the benchmark rate falling to 4.6% next year, suggesting three rate cuts in 2024, unchanged from the prior projection in December. For 2025 and 2026, however, the Fed sees fewer rate cuts, forecasting rates to fall to 3.9% next year and 3.1% in 2026, up from prior forecasts of 3.6% and 2.9%, respectively.
BOJ chief vows to support economy with monetary stimulus Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said on Thursday the central bank will continue to support the economy by maintaining accommodative monetary conditions for the time being. "Japan's medium- and long-term inflation expectations are still in the process of accelerating towards 2%," Ueda told parliament. The BOJ ended eight years of negative interest rates and other remnants of its unorthodox policy on Tuesday, making a historic shift away from decades of massive monetary stimulus that was aimed at reviving the economy and quashing deflation. In his first appearance in parliament since the decision, Ueda was grilled by a lawmaker on whether the move was made too hastily and could derail Japan's fragile economic recovery.
Japan manufacturing activity improves in March, services strong Japan’s manufacturing sector shrank less than expected in March, while the services sector grew at a faster pace, indicating some resilience in the economy as it faces an end to nearly a decade on monetary stimulus. The au Jibun Japan Manufacturing PMI read 48.2 so far in March, compared to expectations for a reading of 47.5. The figure improved from the 47.2 seen in February. A reading above 50 indicates expansion in the sector. The country’s services industry remained in expansion, with the au Jibun Japan services PMI reading 54.9 so far in March, stronger than the 52.9 seen in January. The PMIs, which represented about 85% to 90% of overall survey responses for March, indicated some resilience in the Japanese economy, with the services sector in particular continuing to benefit from improving demand.
Dollar weakens after Fed meeting, yen strengthens The 10-year government bond yield (interpolated) on the previous trading day was 2.55, -0.55 bps. The benchmark government bond yield (LB31DA) was 2.56, -1.00 bps. Meantime, the latest closed US 10-year bond yields was 4.27, -3.00 bps. USDTHB on the previous trading day closed around 36.09. Moving in a range of 35.89-35.98 this morning. USDTHB could be closed between 35.70-36.00 today. The dollar weakened and the yen rebounded from near multi-decade lows on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady as expected and policymakers still projected three U.S. rate cuts this year even as inflation remains elevated. The Fed's updated quarterly economic projections showed the personal consumption expenditures price index excluding food and energy rising at a 2.6% rate by year-end, compared to 2.4% in the projections the U.S. central bank issued in December. The new policy view also raised the outlook for the U.S. economy. Policymakers now see growth at 2.1% this year compared to 1.4% projected in December, while the unemployment rate is seen ending 2024 at 4%, versus 4.1% anticipated.
Sources : ttb analytics , Bloomberg, CNBC, Trading economics, Investing, CEIC
