Aussie Dollar stays firm following the central bank decision

On Tuesday, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) and the RBA announced their March monetary policy decisions. The BoJ hiked rates by ten basis points, the first in 17 years, ending the era of negative interest rates. In addition, it ended the Yield Curve Control (YCC) and its ETF buying program. The RBA softened its tone while keeping the door open for additional tightening if needed.

In the meantime, US equities ended the session in the green as the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) decisions loom. Data-wise, the US economic docket revealed housing data. Building Permits increased by 1.9% from 1.489 M to 1.518M, improving sharply compared to January’s data. Housing Starts rose 10.7% from 1.425M to 1.521 M.

An absent economic docket in Australia keeps AUD/USD traders waiting for the Fed’s decision. ANZ analysts commented that they expect the Fed to make no major changes to the Summary of Economic Projections (SEP). Regarding rate cuts, they noted, “We think it will cut in 25bp increments through the second half of the year, reducing the nominal Fed funds corridor by 100bp this year.”