The Central Bank of the United States of America (Federal Reserve System) has traditionally published a record of the meeting of its key Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), which took place on 16 and 17 March 2021. This detailed record, in financial circles referred to as the Fed Minutes, has made it clear that FOMC members will maintain the current US Federal Reserve System monetary policy, including low interest rates, until it is clear that positive economic results have been achieved.
At its last meeting, members of the FOMC indicated that this policy would remain in place until the economy begins to produce stronger employment and inflation, and it is also clear – from the minutes of this meeting – that bank rates will not be adjusted solely on the basis of forecasts. Based on these facts, the exchange rate of the US dollar (USD) has slightly decreased. On 8 April 2021 at 8:53 am CET, according to the US Dollar Currency Index (DXY), the USD was seen at a price level of 92.33, with a daily decrease of -0.14%. This decline in the USD was also reflected in the commodity market, where during the morning of 8 April, at 9:12 am CET, the price of investment gold rose to US$ 1,744.20 per troy ounce, with daily growth of +0.149% so far.
According to economic correspondents, this investor sentiment – based on the published detailed minutes of the FOMC meeting – may be one of the reasons for the change in the business trend of the global currency pair EUR/USD. The single European currency, the euro (EUR) strengthened against the USD and on 8 April at 9:02 am CET the EUR/USD currency pair traded on the foreign exchange – Forex market at a mutual exchange rate of US$ 1,188 per EUR with the daily strengthening of the EUR by +0.08% against the USD.
The detailed minutes of this FOMC meeting indicated that while members of the committee saw the economy grow, they wanted to see much more progress to make changes in monetary policy including an increase in interest rates. FOMC members said that bond purchases worth US$ 120 billion a month “significantly boosted the economy.” At the meeting, they voted to keep short-term borrowing rates close to zero and to continue buying bonds worth US$ 120 billion each month. The Fed will wait until the economy shows “substantial further progress” toward the dual goals of full employment and inflation, which is around 2% year-on-year.
