ING’s Min Joo Kang expects the Bank of Korea (BoK) to stay focused on inflation stabilisation and financial stability as resilient growth combines with rising price pressures.
Commerzbank notes Bank Negara Malaysia raised its 2026 growth forecast to 4.0–5.0% on resilient domestic demand, with consumption and investment underpinned by wages, labour market strength and government support.
Gold (XAU/USD) price rallies for a fourth straight day on Wednesday, hitting a two-week high near $4,800 as the Greenback depreciates amid growing speculation of an end to the Middle East conflict. At the time of writing, the XAU/USD pair trades at $4,758, up nearly 2%.
Standard Chartered economists Hunter Chan and Shuang Ding expect China’s Q1 2026 GDP growth to have accelerated to 4.8% year-on-year, supported by robust exports and recovering investment.
MUFG’s Senior Currency Analyst Michael Wan notes that Asian currencies recovered as risk sentiment improved following comments from US President Trump on ending the Iran war, even as Oil prices stayed elevated.
DBS Group Research’s Radhika Rao highlights India’s fiscal response to elevated global energy prices and Rupee weakness.
USD/JPY trades in a narrow range on Wednesday, as the Japanese Yen (JPY) struggles to capitalize on a softer US Dollar (USD). At the time of writing, the pair is trading around 158.50 after retreating from the 160.00 handle touched earlier this week.
DXY fell more than 0.5% on Wednesday, drifting into session lows around 99.30 after opening close to 99.90. The index has been under steady selling pressure all session, carving a series of lower highs on the intraday chart as the ceasefire narrative gained traction.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) climbed around 400 points on Wednesday, or roughly 0.9%, as equities extended their rally into a second session on growing hopes that an end to the US-Iran conflict may be in sight.
The US Dollar (USD) kept its bearish impulse well in place for the second day in a row on Wednesday, this time retreating from recent multi-month tops on the back of the marked improvement in the risk-associated universe and rising hopes of a potential end to the conflict in the Middle East sooner r
AUD/USD advances on Wednesday and trades around 0.6940 at the time of writing, up 0.56% on the day. The pair rebounds, supported by improving risk sentiment that weighs on the US Dollar (USD).
The Pound Sterling (GBP) advances over 0.70% on Wednesday as risk appetite improved amid speculation of an end to the Middle East conflict, following US President Donald Trump's statement, "We're going to be out of Iran pretty quickly." GBP/USD trades above 1.3300 after bouncing off daily lows of 1.
