FOREX TODAY: AFTER THE CPI-DRIVEN USD RISE, ALL EYES ARE ON THE ECB'S POLICY PRONOUNCEMENTS.

WHAT YOU SHOULD BE AWARE OF ON THURSDAY, APRIL 11 IS AS FOLLOWS:

The robust inflation figures released on Wednesday led to significant gains for the US Dollar (USD) relative to its competitors. Following the conclusion of its April meeting on Thursday, the European Central Bank (ECB) will make announcements regarding its monetary policy. Meanwhile, the US economic docket will include the Producer Price Index (PPI) figures for March along with the weekly data on Initial Jobless Claims.

According to a study released on Wednesday by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased 3.5% in the US in March. This reading above the market expectation of 3.4% and followed the 3.2% increase noted in February. Both the core and the CPI increased by 0.4% on a monthly basis.

With a gain of more than 1% for the day, the USD Index shot up and to its highest level since November above 105.00. Later in the day, the Federal Reserve's March meeting minutes were released, revealing that officials were generally unsure about how long high inflation would last and that they were not more confident in inflation's ability to move stably toward the 2% target based on recent evidence. Major US equity indexes experienced a 1% decline, and the benchmark 10-year US Treasury bond yield increased above 4.5% during this time.

US DOLLAR EXCHANGE RATE FOR THIS WEEK

The US dollar's (USD) percentage movement compared to a list of major currencies for this week is displayed in the table below. The US dollar outperformed the Swiss franc in terms of strength.

The major currencies' percentage movements relative to one another are displayed on the heat map. The quotation currency is selected from the top row, and the base currency is selected from the left column. For example, the percentage change shown in the box will indicate EUR (base)/JPY (quote) if you select the Euro from the left column and proceed along the horizontal line to the Japanese Yen.

It is generally expected that the ECB will not alter key rates. ECB President Christine Lagarde will discuss the policy outlook and answer questions from the media after the policy announcements. On Wednesday, the EUR/USD fell more than 1% and was last seen trading just around 1.0750.

As anticipated, the Bank of Canada (BoC) kept the policy rate at 5% on Wednesday. BoC Governor Tiff Macklem stated during the press conference following the meeting that a rate cut in June was “within the realm of possibilities.” Gaining positive momentum, USD/CAD rose above 1.3700 to reach its best level since November. During Thursday morning's European session, the pair continues to be in a consolidation phase, somewhat below this level.

In just three weeks, the USD/JPY pair broke out of its range and to a new multi-decade high above 153.00. Above this level, the pair moves in a narrow channel during the early European session.

GBP/USD continued to decline on Wednesday, losing more than 1% and falling below 1.2600. The pair begins the European day unchanged, just below 1.2550.

On Wednesday, gold saw a significant correction, falling below $2,320. During Asian trading hours, XAU/USD modestly increased and was last seen trading in positive territory close to $2,340.