Market View: Thursday, March 19, 2026
The US dollar index climbed above the 100 level upon the Fed’s rate decision; gold hit a six-week low at $4,760; EURUSD slid below 1.14700; Bitcoin hit the $70,000 support line.
- The USD shows moderate strength due to the delay in the rate cuts.
- XAUUSD declined upon the hawkish Fed rhetoric.
- EURUSD is pressured by the strong US dollar and the weaker eurozone economy.
- Bitcoin lacked a strong bullish catalyst due to the rate cut postponement.
Today’s focus
| Bank of England Interest Rate Decision due at 14:00 MT time |
| European Central Bank Interest Rate Decision due at 15:15 MT time |
FX snapshot
XAUUSD
Gold failed to defend the $5,000 level, as it is locally overbought. The market also considers the current oil-to-gold price ratio of 30 to be fair and will tend to maintain this level.
EURUSD
The pair slid toward 1.14600 on worsening war in the Middle East.
BTC
Bitcoin faces no clear trend and is liquidity-driven. However, it struggled to defend the $70,000 trading zone, declining by 1.80% intraday.
| Pair | Key support | Key resistance | Bias |
| XAUUSD | 4,700 | 4,870 | Bearish |
| EURUSD | 1.14500 | 1.15000 | Bearish |
| BTC | 69,000 | 71,000 | Bearish |
Market sentiment
The Fed predictably held the rate steady and expressed no rush to cut it. The “higher for longer” key theme is back on track. The market remained disappointed and uncertain by that decision. However, as long as oil is pushing higher (+4.6% intraday) and exceeds $115, the market starts counting in the “oil-to-gold” ratio, supposing that 30 should be the fair number.
Thus, gold will keep on declining should oil prices stay elevated. Today, the BoE and the ECB will release their rate decisions, which may affect the local currencies.
