ECB Interest Rate Statement

Contract: Euro
Result: No Trade
Spread: didn’t see

Prior: 3.5%
Expected: 3.75%
Actual: 3.75%

Rates were raised as expected. Interest rate raise was already priced into the market so not much movement.

Description
The European Central Bank (ECB) Governing Council releases an Interest Rate Statement each month. The statement contains the latest decision regarding changes to the euro area’s short term interest rate (“minimum bid rate”). A rising trend has a positive effect on the nation’s currency. Short term interest rates are the paramount factor in currency valuation; traders look at most other indicators merely to predict how interest rates may change in the future. What makes interest rates so important is that high rates attract foreigners looking for the best “risk-free” return on their money, which significantly increases demand for the nation’s currency. The primary objective of the central bank is to achieve price stability; when inflation rises above an annualized rate of approximately 2%, they will respond by raising interest rates in an attempt to bring prices down. This is what makes inflation-predicting indicators so important. Traders know that rising prices will lead the central bank to raise interest rates, which ultimately leads to a more valuable currency.

UK Interest Rates

Pair: GBP/USD or British Pound Futures
Result: No Trade

Prior: 5.25%
Expected: 5.25%
Actual: 5.25%

There was an outside chance of rates being raised today, but they stayed the same.

Description
The central bank’s governing body, the Bank of England (BOE) Monetary Policy Committee, releases an Interest Rate Statement each month. The statement contains the latest decision regarding changes to the nation’s short term interest rate (“Bank rate”). A rising trend has a positive effect on the nation’s currency. Short term interest rates are the paramount factor in currency valuation; traders look at most other indicators merely to predict how interest rates may change in the future. What makes interest rates so important is that high rates attract foreigners looking for the best “risk-free” return on their money, which significantly increases demand for the nation’s currency. The primary objective of the central bank is to achieve price stability; when inflation rises above an annualized rate of approximately 2%, they will respond by raising interest rates in an attempt to bring prices down. This is what makes inflation-predicting indicators so important. Traders know that rising prices will lead the central bank to raise interest rates, which ultimately leads to a more valuable currency.