Forex News for 2nd May, 2023

• Gold prices drop ahead of Fed interest rate decisions as the direction of the XAU/USD pair will be determined by the key economic data releases from the US. A strong USD may push gold prices to a lower range.  
• The Federal Reserve is planning to raise interest rates to the highest it’s ever been in 16 years as the threat of prevailing inflation is still there although it has weakened. 
• Analysts at ANZ anticipate a 0.25 bp increase in interest rates as they believe ECB is not in a position to pause the tightening cycle as of now. 
• The rise in inflation is putting the labour market under pressure in Japan as smaller firms are forced to raise their wages. 
• Goldman Sachs forecasted that the Federal Reserve might take a break and decide to pause the rate hikes in June after a 0.25 bp rate hike for the month of May. 
• The Japanese Yen fell to the lowest level in 15 years as the conservative policies of the Bank of Japan is contrary to the hawkish tone adopted by the ECB. 
• The IMF expects a 4.6% growth to happen in Asian economies as they are optimistic about China and India playing a key role in economic expansion but also point at several risks including prevalence of inflation. 
• The kingdom of Bhutan finally clarifies the mystery surrounding their secret Bitcoin mining operations as officials confirm the news.