Foreign Exchange Market Update

March 20, 2023

United States (U.S.) Major Central Banks Try To Stem Contagion After Credit Suisse Rescue

World's major central banks announced a joint effort to prevent the banking crisis from spreading after the Swiss bank UBS decided to acquire the troubled rival Credit Suisse in a deal brokered by the Swiss authorities. Leading central banks, including the Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank, the Bank of Canada, the Bank of England, the Bank of Japan, and the Swiss National Bank, announced a coordinated action late Sunday to boost the provision of liquidity via the standing USD liquidity swap line arrangements. Central banks decided to increase the frequency of USD operations with 7-day maturity from weekly to daily from March 20. These daily operations will continue for at least through the end of April. "The network of swap lines among these central banks is a set of available standing facilities and serves as an important liquidity backstop to ease strains in global funding markets, thereby helping to mitigate the effects of such strains on the supply of credit to households and businesses," a joint statement from the central banks said. 03/20/2023 - 09:03:00 (RTTNews)

Eurozone Trade Gap Narrows In January; Germany Producer Price Inflation Eases To 15.8%, Lowest Since Sep 2021

EUR traded at 1.0713 against USD at 9:00 am PST.

Euro area trade deficit narrowed at the start of the year as the pace of fall in imports exceeded the decline in exports. The deficit on trade in goods decreased to a seasonally adjusted EUR 11.3 billion in January from EUR 13.4 billion in December. In the whole year of 2022, exports of goods climbed 18.0%, and imports grew 37.7% from the last year.  As a result, the euro area registered a deficit of EUR 333.5 billion compared with a surplus of EUR 105.3 billion from January to December 2021.

Germany's PPI eased for the fifth month in February to reach its lowest level in nearly one-and-a-half years amid a continued slowdown in energy prices. The PPI climbed 15.8% YoY in February, which was slower than the 17.6% rise in January, and missed the forecast of price growth to ease to 14.5%. 03/20/2023 - 08:08:00 (RTTNews)

China Retains Benchmark Lending Rates As Expected

CNY traded at 6.8709 against USD at 9:00 am PST.

China retained its benchmark lending rates for the seventh month on Monday after a surprise reserve requirement ratio reduction last week. The PBoC left its one-year loan prime rate, or LPR, unchanged at 3.65%. Similarly, the five-year LPR, the benchmark for mortgage rates, was maintained at 4.30%. The last change in the LPR was in August 2022, when the five-year rate was cut by 15 basis points and the one-year rate by 5 basis points. 03/20/2023 - 01:46:00 (RTTNews)