By Kathy Lien, Managing Director of FX Strategy for BK Asset Management
After sitting on the sidelines for the past few months, central banks around the world decided that it was finally time to spring into action. This morning, the Bank of England, People's of China and the European Central Bank eased monetary policy, triggering widespread volatility in the foreign exchange market. The European Central Bank's decision to cut its refinancing rate to to a record low of 0.75% stripped the EUR/USD of all its EU Summit gains even though ECB President Draghi refused to comment on the possibility of LTRO3. While the decision was largely anticipated, it was nonetheless significant enough to drive the EUR/USD sharply lower. In our ECB Preview, we wrote that a rate cut by the ECB could be a win-win for the EUR and this could still be true once the dust settles and investors realize that the ECB has finally stepped out of the shadows and taken steps to actively stimulate the Eurozone economy. However this may take a few days and will only happen if equity traders respond positively to the global easing. Interestingly enough, Dow futures are trading lower this morning, which could be a result of Draghi's extreme pessimism
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