Welcome to the Extreme Investor Network! Today we are diving into the recent data released by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) that is impacting the stock market and trading landscape.
On April 25th, the BEA reported on GDP growth, which slowed to a 1.6% rate in the first quarter, falling well below expectations. The next day, the BEA released the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index, a key measure of inflation closely monitored by the Federal Reserve. The index showed a 0.3% increase in prices from February to March, in line with the previous month. This marks the third consecutive month of prices rising faster than the Fed’s 2% inflation target, with an annualised growth rate of 2.7% in March.
According to Kar Yong Ang, a financial market analyst at Octa Broker, the weak U.S. economic growth and rising inflation are delaying the possibility of a key rate cut in 2024. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) does not have any positive factors to work with at the moment, setting a more hawkish tone for the upcoming meeting. As a result, we can expect the USD to continue strengthening against major currencies, with USDJPY potentially reaching above 160.00 by the end of the week.
As you may know, Octa is an international broker that has been offering online trading services since 2011. With commission-free access to financial markets and a wide range of services utilized by clients from 180 countries and over 42 million trading accounts, Octa is committed to helping clients achieve their investment goals. They provide free educational resources such as webinars, articles, and analytical tools to support their clients.
In addition to their commitment to their clients, Octa is actively engaged in charitable and humanitarian initiatives aimed at improving educational infrastructure and supporting local communities through relief projects. Their dedication to excellence has garnered them over 70 awards since their inception, including recognitions such as the ‘Best Educational Broker 2023’ award from Global Forex Awards and the ‘Best Global Broker Asia 2022’ award from International Business Magazine.
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