Weekly Market Analysis / 27 - 31 March 23

Last week, the US and UK Central Banks' interest rate decisions came to the fore in global markets. The Fed is determined to reduce inflation. Despite the banking crisis, the Fed increased the policy rate by 25 basis points to the range of 4.75-5%. Thus, the policy rate rose to the highest level since 2007. Fed Chairman Powell stated that they will continue to closely monitor the conditions in the banking system, and that they are ready to use all necessary tools to keep the system safe. It was also a week with intense data flow on the British side, the Bank of England (BoE) increased the interest rate by 25 basis points to 4.25% in its meeting on Thursday, in line with the expectations. While this was the highest level since 2008, the bank signaled that further increases could be expected if inflation continued. Global markets, which saw hard sales due to the banking crisis last week, recovered with the news of the merger of Credit Suisse and supportive statements from central banks. Ounce of gold again tested the 2.000 level; however, it closed the week at $1.975 with a short decline after the current interest rate decisions.