02 August 2023, EUR/USD
EURUSD trading plan:
Investors are of a mind that the U.S. Federal Reserve has delivered its final interest rate increase to cap the most aggressive policy-tightening cycle in four decades, but central bank officials caution it is still too soon to make that call. Last week's hike brought the Fed's policy rate to a range of 5.25% to 5.50% from near zero 16 months earlier. The aim of policymakers is to finish the task of bringing what had been the highest inflation since the 1980s a year ago at this time back to their target of 2%, measured at an annual rate. Fed officials are not ready to declare victory, though. Central bank Chair Jerome Powell said last week the pieces of the low inflation "puzzle" may be aligning, but he doesn't trust it yet. He emphasized the unusually long break before the next meeting on Sept. 19-20, an eight-week gap that will feature double-doses in many instances of critical data on employment, growth and inflation, the "totality" of which he said will guide the decision to stand pat here or push rates higher still.
Investment idea: range 1.0960 -1.1050.