The European Central Bank increased the interest rate by 50 points at this year's first meeting, while announcing a 50-point hike at the next meeting in March. Despite such hawkish results of the February meeting, the euro came under pressure. The single currency retreated from a multi-month price peak (1.1034) and returned to the area of the 9th figure. Anomalous, at the first glance, market reaction is due to several factors.
Spring is near
If you assess the February meetings of the Federal Reserve, Bank of England and ECB, you can take note of one general characteristic. On the one hand, central banks declared the continuation of a hawkish course, but on the other hand, they made it clear that aggressive monetary policies are coming to an end. That's why the dollar was under attack at the end of the Fed meeting, the pound was under pressure by the end of the BoE meeting, and the euro was losing ground by the results of the ECB meeting. At the same time, traders actually ignored the fact that the central banks announced further steps to monetary tightening.
For example, ECB President Christine Lagarde without any vague wording, which is considered "straightforward", announced that the ECB intends to raise interest rates by another 50 basis points during the next meeting in March. According to her, the disinflationary process hadn't begun, despite the slowdown in the overall consumer price index (core inflation continues to show an uptrend).
It would seem that such straightforward hawkish verbal signals should have served as a springboard for the euro. But instead of growth to the resistance level of 1.1090 (the upper line of the Bollinger Bands indicator on the weekly chart), the price turned 180 degrees and was marked in the area of the 8th figure, followed by the retreat to the area of the 9th price level.
Why did this happen?
First of all, Lagarde, while announcing monetary tightening in March, questioned the further growth of interest rates. According to her, after the March decision "the ECB will evaluate the subsequent path of monetary policy." At the same time, market expectations (in particular, currency strategists at Danske Bank and a number of other large conglomerates) are more hawkish. The assumed scenario includes a 50-point hike in March and a 25-point increase at the next meeting (by 50 points according to some other analysts). Therefore, Lagarde's "wrap-up" sentiment was negatively received by EUR/USD bulls. The single currency was under pressure as traders took the ECB's message as a sign that the central bank nears the end of its rate hike cycle. In my opinion, the market adequately assessed the situation and correctly perceived the signals of the ECB.
Secondly, the ECB head emphasized her stance on problematic aspects - in particular, she said that economic activity in the European region has slowed down noticeably. At the same time, "high inflation and tighter financing conditions, these headwinds dampen spending and production,". Such comments put pressure on the euro.
Nevertheless, despite the euro's negative response, the EUR/USD pair did not collapse into the area of 7-6 figures, but only retreated from the multi-month price high to the base of the 9th price level. The underlying reason for such stress tolerance is that Lagarde tried to maintain a balance in her rhetoric. On the one hand, she announced a "guaranteed" 50-point hike in March, on the other hand, she questioned further steps towards tightening. On the one hand, Lagarde complained about the slowdown in economic activity; but then she also admitted that the European economy has been more resilient than expected. Moreover, according to forecasts, the economy will show signs of recovery in the coming quarters. At the same time, the ECB head pointed to the optimism of entrepreneurs (obviously referring to the PMI and ifo indices), stable gas supplies to Europe and reduced interruptions.
Conclusions
Figuratively speaking, the scales are back in equilibrium again: The Fed put pressure on the dollar, and the ECB put almost as much pressure on the greenback. The bulls couldn't conquer the 10th figure, the bears couldn't pull the price down to the 7th figure (and even failed to get a foothold at the 8th price level). Now everything will depend on the values of the key macroeconomic indicators, first of all, in regards to inflation. If core inflation in the European region persistently climbs up, the ECB may raise the rate not only in March but also at the next meeting. The US faces a similar situation: the Fed chief has declared a hawkish course, "tying" the scope of monetary tightening to the dynamics of key inflation indicators. Each inflation report and each inflation component (both in the US and Europe) will be viewed through the prism of further central bank actions.
Following the Fed and ECB meetings, the pair remained in the 1.0850-1.0970 range within which it has been trading for several weeks. In my opinion, in the mid-term perspective, the pair will fluctuate in the given price range, alternately pushing back from its limits, reacting to the current information flow.
