UK inflation data released Wednesday confirmed the disinflationary trend the Bank of England (BoE) has been watching for, with headline CPI dropping to 3% and the Retail Price Index falling to 3.8% from 4.2%.

ING economists Peter Virovacz and Frantisek Taborsky expect the National Bank of Hungary (NBH) to start an easing cycle at its 24 February meeting, cutting the base rate by 25bp to 6.25%.

Russia Producer Price Index (YoY) declined to -5% in January from previous -3.3%

Russia Producer Price Index (MoM): -2.5% (January) vs previous -1.6%

The Minutes of the United States (US) Federal Reserve’s (Fed) January 27-28 monetary policy meeting will be published on Wednesday at 19:00 GMT.

Rabobank’s Senior US Strategist Philip Marey expects the FOMC to deliver three 25 bps cuts in 2026, but now sees the easing cycle starting in June rather than March. Stronger US labor market data have reduced the urgency for near-term easing, while softer CPI inflation supports cuts later in 2026.

USD/CHF trades around 0.7717 on Wednesday at the time of writing, up 0.20% on the day.

EUR/USD remains on the back foot on Wednesday as second-tier US economic data provided modest support to the US Dollar (USD).

BNY’s Head of Markets Macro Strategy Bob Savage highlights that Australia’s Westpac-Melbourne Institute Leading Index slowed sharply, suggesting stalled momentum even as commodity prices support the Australian Dollar.

United States Capacity Utilization came in at 76.2%, below expectations (76.5%) in January

United States Industrial Production (MoM) above forecasts (0.4%) in January: Actual (0.7%)

Nomura Research Analysts Dominic Bunning and Yusuke Miyairi argue that UK wage and inflation data still point to further monetary policy convergence with the Euro area, while rising UK political risks are seen as under-priced and supportive of Euro outperformance versus Pound.

TD Securities analysts note that Canadian January CPI surprised slightly to the downside at 2.3% year-on-year, with core measures also easing. They argue the Bank of Canada is unlikely to overreact but say softer core momentum reduces the bar for policy response to future growth headwinds.

United States Redbook Index (YoY) rose from previous 6.5% to 7.2% in February 13

Gold (XAU/USD) trades firmer on Wednesday after sliding to its lowest level in nearly two weeks at $4,842 the previous day, as dip buyers stepped in to limit the downside and keep the pullback relatively shallow. At the time of writing, XAU/USD is trading around $4,952, up nearly 1.50% on the day.

Durable Goods in the US dropped to $319.6 billion, or 1.4%, in December, the US Census Bureau reported on Wednesday. This print followed the 5.4% increase recorded in the previous month and surpassed market expectations for a 2.0% contraction.

The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the Greenback's value against a basket of six major currencies, holds steady on Wednesday as traders position ahead of key US economic releases. At the time of writing, the index trades near 97.29, up roughly 0.20% on the day.

Rabobank argues that the European Commission’s forthcoming push for a Savings and Investment Union and capital markets union, alongside Sweden’s possible reconsideration of EMU membership, are structurally supportive for the Euro.

United States Housing Starts Change up to 3.9% in November from previous -4.6%

United States Building Permits Change declined to -1.6% in November from previous -0.2%

United States Housing Starts (MoM) up to 1.322M in November from previous 1.246M

United States Building Permits (MoM) fell from previous 1.412M to 1.388M in November

United States Housing Starts Change rose from previous -4.6% to 6.2% in November

United States Building Permits (MoM) above forecasts (1.4M) in December: Actual (1.448M)

United States Housing Starts (MoM) above forecasts (1.33M) in December: Actual (1.404M)

United States Durable Goods Orders ex Defense dipped from previous 6.6% to -2.5% in December

United States Durable Goods Orders ex Defense fell from previous 6.6% to -2.85% in December

United States Durable Goods Orders ex Transportation above forecasts (0.3%) in December: Actual (0.9%)

United States Durable Goods Orders above forecasts (-2%) in December: Actual (-1.4%)

Societe Generale’s Kit Juckes argues that Dollar shorts are crowded and struggling to gain traction despite a US Administration preference for a weaker Dollar and lower interest rates. He notes DXY recently broke below key moving averages, but says only a modest rebound would reverse that.