November US PPI Rises, In Line With CPI Reading
ECB Meets Forecasts of Interest Rate Cut to 3.15%
SNB Surprises Market with 0.50% Interest Rate Cut
Two central bank policy meetings were the focus of Thursday's trading session, which saw interest rate cuts continue.
In the European session yesterday, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) surprised the market by cutting interest rates by 50 basis points to 0.50% from the previous 1.00% level, when the market expected a cut of only 25 basis points like in previous meetings.
The Swiss franc CHF currency experienced a significant decline to its lowest level in 3 weeks.
Meanwhile, in the New York session, the European Central Bank (ECB) met forecasts to cut interest rates by 25 basis points to 3.15% from 3.40%.
The Euro weakened and is expected to continue trading under pressure as the ECB continues to open up room for further easing of its monetary policy in an effort to achieve its inflation target.
The US dollar maintained its position at the end of the week as US producer inflation data published in the New York session yesterday also recorded an increase.
The US producer price index (PPI) for November rose to 0.4%, beating expectations of 0.2%.
The increase in US producer inflation is seen in line with the consumer inflation reading published on Wednesday.
This indicator confirms a 25 basis point interest rate cut to be implemented by the Federal Reserve (Fed) at next week's FOMC meeting to close out 2024.
