Daily summary: Powell brings relief after hawkish dot-plot

• FOMC delivered a 75 bp rate hike, in-line with market expectations

• New FOMC projections showed downward revisions to GDP growth forecast and upward revisions to inflation and unemployment forecasts

• New FOMC dot-plot showed rates at 4.4% at the end of 2022, compared to 3.4% in June forecast. Terminal rate still seen in 2023 but at 4.6%

• Indices dipped and USD gained following decision but those moves were reversed during Powell's press conference amid lack of further hawkish comments

• Gold and silver jumped during Powell's press conference as the market took it as dovish. Silver gains 3% while gold trades over 1% higher

• US indices trade higher with Nasdaq leading the gains (+1.2%). Dow Jones is top laggard but still gains around 0.5% at press time

• Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a partial mobilization. It will cover reservists and former soldiers. Russia plans to mobilize around 300 thousand additional troops

• European stock market indices finished today's trading higher. German DAX, UK FTSE 100 and French CAC40 gained 0.6-0.8%. Main Russian indices slumped around 4%

• China has put Tangshan city, an important steel-making hub, under lockdown

• DOE report confirmed a smaller-than-expected build in US oil inventories signaled by API report yesterday (+1.14 mb vs +2.3 mb expected) 

• US existing home sales dropped from 4.82 million to 4.80 million in August (exp. 4.71 million)

• Oil had a volatile session today, jumping after Putin's address and pulling back later on. Brent currently trades around 0.5% higher

• AUD and NZD are top performing G10 currencies while EUR and GBP lag the most

EURUSD plunged to a fresh 20-year low after Fed decision announcement as US dollar strengthened on hawkish dot-plot. However, the move was reversed during Powell's press conference. Source: xStation5