EURUSD Consolidates Above 1.44 Level

The EURUSD remained steady above the 1.44 level following last week’s ECB rate hike of 25 bp, as widely expected, while the US dollar was unchanged US government shutdown was avoided with the agreement on a deficit consolidation plan. Operations will continue as normal until the end of September although public spending cuts were revised to around $38 bln. US economic calendar contains no major data today, except the speeches of several Fed presidents including Evans, Dudley and Yellen.

In Asia, Machine orders in Japan declined more than expectations during March, indicating that Japanese companies were concerned about the strength of recovery, following the devastating earthquake and Tsunami. The governor of Bank of Japan Shirawaka said that the economy will face a strong downward pressure after the catastrophe due to slowdown in corporate output, while the Bank has committed up to 1 trillion yen in 1 year loans, for the companies affected by this natural disaster.