Asian session review: the US dollar fell on the background of the results of the Fed meeting

During today's asian trading, the US dollar fell against the euro and the yen after the announcement of the results of the US Fed meeting.

The Ice index, which tracks the dollar's performance against six currencies (euro, swiss franc, yen, canadian dollar, pound sterling and swedish krona), fell 0.57%.

According to the results of the meeting on December 15-16, the US Federal Reserve kept the interest rate on the federal funds rate in the range from 0% to 0.25% per annum. In addition, in the coming months, the Fed will continue to increase investments in government bonds by at least $80 billion and in mortgage securities by at least $40 billion per month, "until significant progress is made in achieving the goals of the committee on maximum employment and price stability."

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said during a press conference that the US economy continues to recover, but at a slower pace. The Fed has improved its forecast for the US economy for 2021-2022. According to the regulator's December report, US GDP will decline by 2.4% this year, grow by 4.2% in 2021 and by 3.2% in 2022. In September, the Fed expected a fall of 3.7% this year and growth of 4% and 3%, respectively, in the next two years.

Meanwhile, according to the Wall Street Journal, US congressional leaders are close to agreeing on a stimulus package of about $900 billion. According to informed sources of the newspaper, the package that was discussed on Wednesday will not include assistance to state authorities and protection of companies from claims in connection with the pandemic. At the same time, it is expected that the support measures will include direct payments to citizens.

The pound rose against the dollar. The head of the European Commission (EC), Ursula von der Leyen, said on Wednesday during a speech in the European Parliament about the existence of a "path to an agreement". At the same time, she noted that the parties have not yet managed to settle the issues of fishing and providing equal conditions for competition.

Today, investors are waiting for the announcement of the results of the december meeting of the Bank of England. According to economists ' forecasts, the Bank of England is likely to keep the key rate at 0.1% and will not make changes to the asset purchase program after its increase by 150 billion pounds in november.