Dear Reader,

Today's overview of economic news and market action: 

• There was a cautious mood on financial markets yesterday …
• The main FX pairs operated in tight ranges during the European session …
• Overnight though, the dollar was under some downward pressure …
• This sees EUR/USD start today in the top half of $1.16-1.17 …
• GBP/USD is up at the $1.37 threshold …
• EUR/GBP remains in the lower half of 85-86p …
• Today, a number of US data releases will be in focus …

All rates quoted are indicative market rates.

The June meeting of the US Federal Reserve Open Market Committee. (FOMC) saw the central bank leave policy on hold. The target range for the Fed funds rate was maintained at 4.25-4.50%. This represented the 4th meeting in a row where the Fed left policy unaltered and was very much in line with market expectations.

The June meeting of the Bank of England's Monetary policy committee (MPC) saw the central bank leave the Bank rate unchanged at 4.25%. This followed a 25bpd reduction in May. Today's decision for unaltered rates was very much in line with the market expectations. So far in the current easing cycle, which began in August last year, the BOE has caught a total of 100bps.