The dollar stalled by -0.5% on Wednesday (the $-Index fell by -0.55% to 103.22, its lowest level since February 1): the FOREX seems more reactive to Jerome Powell's comments than to the (modest) easing of US rates: -3Pts on the '10-year' T-Bonds at 4.1050% and -1.5Pt on the '2-year' at 4.537%.
While the dollar seems to have been weakening since the end of February, precious metals have been rising steadily: gold has set a new record at $2.150 and seems unstoppable.

At a congressional hearing, J. Powell reaffirmed his desire to maintain a cautious approach to any rate cut (we must act 'neither too early nor too late'), as inflation remains above the 2% target (he pushed back the horizon for a rate cut to June).

In addition to Jerome Powell's parliamentary speech, the day will be marked by the evening publication of the Fed's Beige Book, which should describe a US economy that is growing, but modest, far from the euphoria recently seen on the equity markets.

In terms of figures, the monthly ADP survey reveals that the US private sector generated 140,000 new jobs in February.
ADP points out in particular that wage gains for those changing jobs accelerated for the first time in over a year, rising from 7.2% to 7.6%, a level significantly higher than inflation.

The labor market remains buoyant, but this is unlikely to tip the balance in terms of the Fed's rate decision this year", says Nela Richardson, Chief Economist at ADP.
Another figure: US wholesaler inventories fell by 0.3% in January 2024, compared with +0.4% in December, according to the Commerce Department.
Given that US wholesaler sales fell by 1.7% in January compared with the previous month, it took them 1.36 months to clear their inventories, a pace to be compared with 1.34 months in December.

With 24 hours to go before the ECB meeting (press conference to follow at 2:30 p.m.), the euro is strengthening significantly, gaining 0.5% against the dollar at 1.0910, 0.25% against the Swiss franc at 0.9615, and +0.1% against the pound.

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