US futures rose after the White House announced a potential agreement on infrastructure that will be worth more than $1 trillion. Recent talks have been with the White House, Democrats, and several Republicans. This deal will be substantially lower than the $2.3 trillion that Joe Biden pitched a few months ago. Still, there is a possibility that the deal will find hurdles in Congress, where many Republicans are opposed to tax hikes. Progressives are also opposed to a deal that does not include tax hikes for the wealthy, childcare, and clean energy. A new infrastructure deal will be positive for many stocks like Caterpillar and Deere.
The British pound was relatively unchanged ahead of the BOE interest rate decision that will come out today. The BOE is expected to leave interest rates unchanged and possibly provide hints on when it will start tapering its asset purchases. The key concern for the BOE is the rising inflation, which rose to 2.1% last month. The decision comes at a time when the UK economy is doing well. This year, it is expected to grow by more than 7%, a better performance than the US and the EU. Home prices have surged while a third of Brits have increased their savings substantially during the pandemic.
The US dollar was little changed as investors wait for a major data dump from the US. The country’s statistics agency will publish the final forecast of US GDP data. Analysts expect the data to show that the economy bounced back by 6.4% in the first quarter. The US will also publish the latest durable goods orders and jobless claims numbers. Recently, initial jobless claims have fallen to the lowest level since the pandemic started. Other key numbers to watch will be consumer spending and corporate profits.
EURGBP
The EURGBP has declined ahead of the latest BOE interest rate decision. It is trading at 0.8540, which is slightly below this week’s high at 0.8600. On the four-hour chart, it is slightly above the lower side of the descending channel. It has also fallen below the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level and the 25-day moving average. The downward trend will be confirmed if the price manages to move below the lower side of the channel at 0.8530. The alternate scenario is where the pair rises to retest the upper side of the channel.
EURUSD
The EURUSD pair retreated slightly during the overnight session. It fell to the current 1.1923 level, which is along the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level. It has also formed a bearish flag pattern that is shown in pink. In price action, this pattern is usually a sign of potential weakness. It has also moved below the short and medium-term moving averages. Therefore, the pair may soon break out lower.
USDCHF
The USDCHF pair was also unchanged during the American session. It is trading at 0.9193, which is the same level as the middle line of the Bollinger Bands. It has also formed a flag pattern, which tends to be a bullish sign. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) and MACD have formed a bearish divergence pattern. Therefore, the pair will likely break out higher as bulls target the next key level at 0.9200.
