Euro hits the best levels of the day
The euro caught a quick bid after Reuters reported that ECB policymakers had shifted the debate away from whether or not to ending QE and towards how quick to raise rates have ending QE.
EUR/USD immediately jumped 1.2300 from 1.2280 and then continued up as high as 1.2325 -- a session high. It has since retraced to 1.2314.
What next?
None of the ECB headlines should be a surprise, so I don't see this as any kind of game changer. It's more about the ECB acknowledging the obvious.
That said, the market likes when the ECB begins to tilt and it's a tailwind for the euro.
The game that's shaping up is that the ECB grows more hawkish and begins to hike but always waits as long as possible before signaling anything. It's an effort to keep the euro low and the market pinned. The problem is that the market isn't stupid and it's going to front-run the ECB and then will likely 'sell the fact'.