EURUSD trades little change ahead of central bank decision

A monetary policy announcement from the European Central Bank is a key event of the day. Decision will be published at 12:45 pm BST and a press conference of President Lagarde will begin 45 minutes later, at 1:30 pm BST. Interest rates are expected to be left unchanged. However, the main focus will be on forward guidance. ECB completed an 18-month long policy review and announced earlier this month that it will adopt a symmetrical 2% inflation goal. Previous goal was for inflation to remain close but slightly below 2%. As the target was effectively raised, markets speculate that ECB may send a dovish message today. Timing and scale of bond purchases will be closely watched.

Markets remain calm ahead of the ECB announcement. EURUSD trades flat on the day and sits slightly below the 1.1800 mark. European stock indices moved higher at the start of today’s session but began to trade sideways later on.