A look at the main events of the past week

The US dollar recorded its first weekly loss since the beginning of February

The Russian-Ukrainian war returns to the fore with the rise in confrontations

UK inflation and Swiss bank meeting to head the week’s events

Statements by Jerome Powell, Lagarde and Bailey this week

After major events and dates witnessed by the markets during the past week, on top of which were the meetings of three central banks, calm returned to the markets this week, as strong economic data were absent during the current week, except for some sporadic data that we will follow from here and there such as inflation data from the United Kingdom and the Swiss National Bank meeting in addition to Statements by the heads of central banks (Federal – England – European). A quick look at the main events of the past week After anticipating 48 hours since the beginning of last week, the US Federal Reserve announced its monetary policy at the end of the American session on Wednesday, to return the movement to the markets, as the bank raised interest rates by a quarter of a point for the first time since 2018, the US Federal Reserve raises interest rates by a quarter of a point (fayezalajmi-4x .com). The Bank of England, in turn, decided to vote by 8-1 to raise interest rates for the third time in a row at its meeting last Thursday to become 0.75%. The Bank of England raises interest rates by 25 basis points and the pound is declining (fayezalajmi-4x.com). On the other hand, the Bank of Japan kept its monetary policy and interest rates unchanged at its meeting on Friday as the last bank to meet during the week. The Bank of Japan did not change monetary policy (fayezalajmi-4x.com). Currency movements during the past week were based on the results of the central bank meetings, as the US dollar fell after the initial reaction of the Fed meeting to support the gains of other major currencies, while the pound sterling was affected by the negativity that came in the Bank of England meeting despite raising interest rates to record declines in the last sessions of the week . The general index of the US dollar is trading this morning at 98.31 levels, up by 0.11%, after it recorded the first weekly decline since the first week of February, by 0.83% at closing at 98.20 levels. The tempo of war rises again The impact of the Russian-Ukrainian war returned to the markets with the opening of the markets today, Monday, with the intensification of the conflict between the two sides, as the Russian and Ukrainian army are fighting in the center of the city of Maripol, the strategic Ukrainian port in the southeast of the country. . With these accelerating events, havens from currencies and safe assets have risen since the beginning of the week, while high-risk currencies have been affected until the moment. Swiss National Bank meets Thursday The Swiss National Bank will announce its monetary policy next Thursday, March 24, as expectations indicate that the bank will keep its monetary policy and interest rates unchanged at its next meeting at the current negative levels of 0.75%. The Swiss bank fought the high levels of the franc and repeated its verbal interventions in the currency markets with the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, where the franc is considered one of the most important safe haven currencies in the markets. Inflation levels in Switzerland at 2.2%, according to the last reading in February, at its highest level since 2008. Will UK inflation continue to rise? With the exacerbation of the living crisis in the United Kingdom and the high prices of energy bills for foodstuffs, the markets are awaiting inflation data from the United Kingdom this week to determine the extent of the acceleration in inflation, which is expected to rise to 6% in February after rising to 5.5% in January in Its highest level in thirty years. The Bank of England announced at its last meeting that it expects inflation to reach 8% levels in the second quarter of this year, but some estimates indicate that inflation may reach a peak of 10% by the summer with the exacerbation of the Russian-Ukrainian war crisis. Central bank heads’ statements this week This week, the markets are also awaiting statements by the heads of central banks, headed by the heads of the three largest central banks in the world (the Fed, the European and the Bank of England). Powell at the annual Economic Policy Conference in Washington in an overview of the economic outlook. Tomorrow, Tuesday, we will follow the statements of Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Philip Lowe at an awards ceremony in Sydney in the Asian session. Next Wednesday, Bank of England Governor Bailey and US Federal Reserve Chairman Powell will speak in a virtual panel discussion to talk about the digital world. SNB Governor Jordan will also speak on Tuesday and Thursday. The statements of the heads of major central banks acquire special importance and have a great impact during this period, especially if they discuss inflation expectations in light of these conditions and ways to address its rise through monetary policy. Miscellaneous data that we will follow during the week Today, Monday, Japan will be on holiday on the occasion of the spring equinox. In the European session, we will follow the statements of European Central Bank President Lagarde, while we will follow the statements of US Federal Reserve Chairman Powell in the American session.