BREAKING: ECB hikes rates by 50 bp!

The European Central Bank announced its latest monetary policy decision at 1:15 pm GMT today. Bank decided to deliver a 50 basis point rate hike in the first policy decision of 2022. Such an outcome was expected by the markets. The Bank repeated in a statement that it will take meeting-y-meeting approach to setting interest rates. ECB expects rates will rise further significantly but at a steady pace. Most importantly, ECB stressed that it intends to hike by another 50 basis point at March meeting. Pace of reduction in APP bond portfoilio was confirmed at €15 billion per month, starting from March.

EUR and DE30 gained following the decision. Nevertheless, scale of moves was quite small as ECB decision turned out to be in-line with expectations.  EURUSD was quick to erase those gains and now trade below pre-announcement levels. Attention now turns to the press conference of ECB President Christine Lagarde, which is set to begin at 1:45 pm GMT.

EURUSD deepens today's slide after ECB decision. The pair jumped above 1.10 mark after FOMC decision yesterday but struggles to maintain momentum. Source: xStation5