American focus: the euro has appreciated strongly against the U.S. dollar

The euro has risen sharply against the U.S. dollar after the data the New York Fed were weaker than expected. Report of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York showed that the producers of New York reported that business conditions deteriorated in February , but still remain favorable . Manufacturing index fell in February to 4.48 to 12.51 in January. January's value was the highest since May 2012 . Index values ​​above zero indicate expanding activity . Economists had expected the index to decline only to 9.9 . Subindexes Fed New York showed mixed trends . The new orders index fell to -0.21 from 10.98 in January , the shipments index fell to 2.13 from 15.52 . Demand for labor in the meantime has not changed . The employment index fell to 11.25 from 12.20 , and the workweek index rose to 3.75 from 1.22 .

In turn , the latest data from the National Association of Home Builders showed that the level of confidence among builders significantly deteriorated in the current month , which was due to severe weather conditions , worker shortages and the limited availability of land , which is another sign of weakening momentum for the market. According to the report , housing market index fell in February to the level of 46 points , compared with 56 points in the last month . Many experts expect that the value of this indicator will remain unchanged. We add that the last result was the lowest since May, when the index was at 44 points. Recall also that the value above 50 indicates that more builders assess conditions as good.

Pound dropped significantly against the dollar after data showed that the UK inflation rate last month fell below the target value of the Bank of England , which is fixed for the first time in the last four years. The latter result confirms the message from the Bank of England, there is no reason to raise interest rates .

According to the report , consumer prices rose by 1.9 per cent per annum in January, compared with an increase of 2.0 percent in December , while showing the weakest growth since November 2009 . Economists had expected inflation to remain at 2.0 percent . Add that up to December last year, the annual inflation rate exceeded the target of the Bank of England at the level of 2 percent every month since December 2009 , undermining the purchasing power of households and making greater decline in living political issue ahead of elections next year.

The main measure of inflation , which excludes prices of energy , food, alcohol and tobacco increased by 1.6 percent in January compared with the same month last year and an increase of 1.7 percent in December , recording the smallest increase since June 2009 . Compared with the previous month , the CPI fell in January by 0.6 percent, which was unchanged compared to December , and it turned out as expected .

The yen fell sharply earlier against the U.S. dollar , which was associated with the Bank of Japan's decision to increase the monetary base by 60-70 trillion yen ( 686 billion dollars). Central Bank doubled lending program until 7 trillion . yen to support the economy. This doubling of lending is seen as dovish signal. Ie regulator is likely to further weaken the ready and their policy as it seeks to maintain liquidity volumes . In addition, the Bank of Japan extended periods of both programs for the year. Thus , the central bank kept the asset purchases unchanged, but decided to implement additional stimulus in the coming months . Regulator still aims to achieve the inflation target of 2 % and intends to achieve an economic breakthrough . The decision was taken by the members of the Monetary Policy Committee unanimously.

In a subsequent speech, the Central Bank Mr. Kuroda said that the program will continue buying bonds in the amount of 6.8 trillion . yen monthly . "We have dramatically increased the efficiency of our mechanism through programs of qualitative and quantitative easing, and we just stocked it with wheels for improved movement," - he said. He also expressed confidence that the latest GDP figures show an improvement in the economy (even though they are not significantly short of expectations ) , and said that in the case of risks materializing the Central Bank has the potential to modify the necessary monetary policy.