Market Snapshot – Draghi Speaks and Euro Sky Rockets

Euro Moves Higher

The focus of the market was clearly on the euro for the day as the ECB President Draghi was scheduled to attend a press conference today following the announcement of the minimum bid rate. As expected the rate was unchanged and Draghi confirmed that the rates would remain the same for an extended period of time and also said that tapering could be extended in size and duration as and when it is needed. This did not stop the euro bulls and they responded bby buying more and more euros and this helped the EURUSD pair to sky rocket through the 1.20 region and move towards the highs of the range and it continues to look good for more.

BOC Rate Hike Surprises Many

The BOC rate hike yesterday was the talk of the markets yesterday and today and it has to be appreciated that the BOC has always been much more pro-active in handling the rates than any other major central bank and this has also helped to sustain the economy of Canada even when the oil prices were in the doldrums a few months back. The BOC also kept the door open for a further rate hike later in the year and this should support the CAD in the short and medium term.