What you need to know on Wednesday, April 28:
Dull trading continued for second consecutive days with major pairs trading within familiar levels. The exception is USD/JPY which added some 40 pips to its latest recovery to settle around 108.70.
In general, investors were cautious ahead of the US Federal Reserve monetary policy announcement scheduled for this Wednesday. The central bank is widely anticipated to maintain the current policy unchanged, although speculative interest hopes for a word on tightening amid the continuous economic improvement.
The EUR/USD pair trades just ahead of the 1.2100 figure while GBP/USD hovers around 1.3900. The AUD/USD pair eases alongside gold, which lost some ground to settle at $ 1,776 a troy ounce, while USD/CAD held around 1.2400 as crude oil prices soared at the end of the day with WTI advancing beyond $ 63.00 a barrel.
Equities traded lifeless, with most major indexes ending the day around their opening levels. Government bond yields advanced, with the US 10-year Treasury note settling at 1.61%.
In the coronavirus front, the differences between major economies and developing countries have widened. The US CDC has said that fully vaccinated people can go outdoors without masks, except in crowded settings. The UK also progresses into reopening the economy as over 50% of the population has received at least one shot of a coronavirus vaccine.
India, on the other hand, continues to record cases of over 350K per days, while the situation in South America continues to deteriorate amid delayed vaccination. The immunization campaign in Europe is also lagging, but most hope to regularize the situation in the next couple of months.
