Currency Market Stabilizes Ahead of Powell Speech, Bitcoin Gains Momentum

On Wednesday, the U.S. dollar remained stable as traders awaited Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s congressional testimony and upcoming key events, including a European Central Bank (ECB) rate decision and U.S. jobs data.

Bitcoin showed renewed momentum in the cryptocurrency market, though it did not surpass its recent record high achieved in a tumultuous overnight session.

The dollar’s movement was restricted, reflecting a slight decline after data revealed a minor slowdown in U.S. services industry growth last month. The upcoming February U.S. jobs report, due on Friday, is anticipated to significantly influence market expectations regarding interest rates, especially if employment figures exceed forecasts.

Powell’s testimony before Congress, focusing on the state of the U.S. economy, is expected to confirm the Fed’s intention to analyze more data before considering any rate cuts. The Fed chief might also discuss January’s strong core inflation, which analysts believe won’t alter the market’s expectation of a rate cut starting in June.

Currently, the market shows about a 60% likelihood of a June rate cut, as indicated by the CME FedWatch tool. The dollar index stood around 103.76, demonstrating its strength against six major currencies.

The euro remained stable at $1.0855, with the market anticipating the ECB’s rate decision. The bank is expected to maintain rates at 4% and provide updates on economic projections and hints about potential rate cuts.

Sterling was steady at $1.27050 ahead of the British budget announcement. Meanwhile, the Australian dollar recovered slightly, dismissing GDP data that showed only 0.2% growth in the fourth quarter and strengthened the case for rate cuts. It was last up 0.24% at $0.65195.

The New Zealand dollar also rose, gaining 0.16% to $0.60960, despite reaching a three-week low earlier. Conversely, the dollar fell 0.12% against the yen, settling at 149.86.

Attention is also focused on Bitcoin, which recently soared to a new high before sharply retreating. It was last up 4.11% at $65,921, fueled by investments in U.S. spot exchange-traded crypto products and anticipation of global interest rate reductions.