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  4. ECB maintains the dovish stance, keeping the rate flat and bond purchasing unchanged; CAD rises sharply as BoC may raise interest rates earlier than expected

ECB maintains the dovish stance, keeping the rate flat and bond purchasing unchanged; CAD rises sharply as BoC may raise interest rates earlier than expected

Daily News April 23, 2021 at 01:55 am (GMT)

• EUR relatively flat as ECB maintains dovish stance
• GBPCAD slips following BoC’s rate decision
• US weekly jobless claims hit 13-month low

ECB has announced that it was in no rush to taper its bond purchasing program despite maintaining an optimistic outlook over recovery. The announcement was followed by a 0.26% decrease in EURUSD, but the pair soon regained some strength and is now relatively flat, hovering around 1.20179, up about 0.02% at press time. President of ECB Christine Lagarde said that, downscaling the bond purchasing was “simply premature”, adding that any changes to the program would be “data-dependent”.

GBPCAD exchange rate dampened heavily following the latest Bank of Canada’s rate decision for April. BoC was quite confident in its tone regarding Canada’s economic recovery, somewhat delivering a signal that it may raise interest rates sooner than expected. This has helped CAD gain significant strength against its major rivals. In Britain, more than 20% of the adults have received the second shot of vaccine. Cases tested positive have declined 7.4% on a weekly basis, and mortality rate has declined to 0.183%. For the first time, it has dropped below top 20 countries on mortality rates. Tomorrow we will see the release on retail sales from the UK for March, expected to be 4% as most businesses have re-opened. Positive figures will help boost the demand on GBP once again.

Number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell to a 13-month low last week, suggesting a growing strength from the labor market. The figure dropped to 547k, a decrease of 39k from prior release, beating the forecast at 617k. It was the second straight week below 700k since March 2020, mostly from declines in Texas and New York. While labor market recovery is gaining speed, red flags are emerging in the housing market. Home sales tumbled to a seven-month low in March as prices jumped to a record high amid shortages in supply.