Analysis of the American trading session

During the American session on Wednesday, December 13, 2017, the US dollar declined against the major market currencies. In the course of trading, the main driver was the expectation of the results of the December meeting of the Fed. As expected, the interest rate was raised from 1.25 to 1.50%, but this did not provide adequate support to the US dollar, as market participants were more focused on forecasts of further tightening of monetary policy. The Fed retained its forecast of further interest rate hikes until 2020, thus disappointing market participants. Some officials pointed to the possible acceleration of economic growth, against which a change in the forecast of the interest rate increase in the future was expected.

Oil prices continued to decline in the course of US trading, despite the decline in oil reserves in the US over the past week See “Oil stabilizes positions. Data on oil reserves in the US.” The main pressure on oil quotes is provided by the OPEC report. In its report, the cartel raised the forecast for the growth of supplies from non-OPEC countries in 2018 by 300 thousand barrels per day, which is an obstacle to achieving a balance of supply and demand in the market.

Alexander Sivtsov