Sean Callow, senior currency strategist at Westpac, notes that during the week, US Federal Reserve chairman Jay Powell surprised by delivering a dramatic shift on monetary policy guidance, helping US stocks to fresh 5 month highs. Key Quotes “After raising rates four times in 2018, global markets had expected to see a fairly sharp twist in guidance at the FOMC meeting this week.” “But the FOMC still managed to deliver a dovish surprise. In the Dec 2018 projections, 11 of 17 members projected either 2 or 3 rate hikes over 2019, with a median of 2 hikes. The median is now for no hikes at all in 2019 and just 1 by end-2021. That’s down from 3 in December.” “Global markets were clearly surprised by the outcome, with officials cutting their forecast for US growth, abandoning projections for rate rises this year and a surprisingly abrupt end to the process of offloading their bond holdings by September this year.” “US 10 year Treasury bond yields traded below 2.5% for the first time since January 2018, the S&P 500 hit highs since October 2018 and the US dollar slipped from 20 month highs.” FX Street FX Street FXStreet is the leading independent portal dedicated to the Foreign Exchange (Forex) market. It was launched in 2000 and the portal has always been proud of their unyielding commitment to provide objective and unbiased information, to enable their users to take better and more confident decisions. View All Post By FX Street FXStreet News share Read Next Forex Today: GBP cheers Brexit deadline extension; Eurozone PMIs, Brexit in focus FX Street 4 years Sean Callow, senior currency strategist at Westpac, notes that during the week, US Federal Reserve chairman Jay Powell surprised by delivering a dramatic shift on monetary policy guidance, helping US stocks to fresh 5 month highs. Key Quotes "After raising rates four times in 2018, global markets had expected to see a fairly sharp twist in guidance at the FOMC meeting this week." "But the FOMC still managed to deliver a dovish surprise. In the Dec 2018 projections, 11 of 17 members projected either 2 or 3 rate hikes over 2019, with a median of 2 hikes. The median is… Regulated Forex Brokers All Brokers Sponsored Brokers Broker Benefits Min Deposit Score Visit Broker 1 $100T&Cs Apply 0% Commission and No stamp DutyRegulated by US,UK & International StockCopy Successfull Traders 9.8 Visit Site FreeBets Reviews$100Your capital is at risk. 2 T&Cs Apply 9.8 Visit Site FreeBets Reviews$100Your capital is at risk. 3 Recommended Broker $100T&Cs Apply No deposit or withdrawal feesTrade major forex pairs such as EUR/USD with leverage up to 30:1 and tight spreads of 0.9 pips Low $100 minimum deposit to open a trading account 9 Visit Site FreeBets ReviewsYour capital is at risk. 4 T&Cs Apply Visit Site FreeBets ReviewsYour capital is at risk. 5 Recommended Broker $0T&Cs Apply Trade gold, silver, and platinum directly against major currenciesUp to 1:500 leverage for forex trading24/5 customer service by phone and email 9 Visit Site FreeBets ReviewsYour capital is at risk.