Ella 
EUR/USD remains on the defensive as market participants wait to see the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy decision on Wednesday. As a result, EUR/USD is trading at 1.0859, down 0.12%.
EUR/USD slips on central bank policy moves and positive U.S. housing data
On Tuesday, two major central banks, the Bank of Japan and the Reserve Bank of Australia, announced their interest rate decisions. The Bank of Japan exited its negative interest rate policy but issued a dovish rate hike statement, which weighed on the Japanese yen (JPY) against most G8 currencies. The Reserve Bank of Australia kept interest rates unchanged at 4.35% and will still consider raising rates if inflation accelerates again.
Beyond that, Wall Street also posted decent gains as global bond yields fell. U.S. economic data shows that the real estate industry is gaining momentum. U.S. building permits rose 1.9% monthly in February from 1.489 million to 1.496 million. Meanwhile, housing starts rose 10.7% in February, exceeding expectations by 8.2%.
At the same time, the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield fell two basis points to 4.034%. The U.S. Dollar Index (DXY), which measures the greenback’s value against a basket of other currencies, was up 0.23% at 103.82.
In the Eurozone (EU), Germany released its ZEW survey report for March. German economic conditions improved to 31.7, while the EU’s economic conditions soared to 33.5, which was better than expected.
