Foreign Exchange Market Update

March 19, 2026

United States

The Labor Department released a report on Thursday showing a dip in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended March 14th. Initial jobless claims fell to 205,000, a decrease of 8,000 from the previous week's 213,000; initial jobless claims dropped to their lowest level since hitting 201,000 in the week ended January 10th.

The four-week moving average also edged down to 210,750, a decrease of 750 from the previous week's average of 211,500. Meanwhile, the report said continuing claims, a reading on the number of people receiving ongoing unemployment assistance, rose by 10,000 to 1.857 million in the week ended March 7th.

However, the four-week moving average of continuing claims still slipped to 1,850,500, a decrease of 2,000 from the previous week's average of 1,852,500. 03/19/2026 - 10:09:00 (RTTNews)

Manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia region continued to expand in March, its diffusion index for current general activity rose to 18.1 in March from 16.3 in February, with a positive reading indicating growth.

The index increased for the third consecutive month, climbing to its highest level since hitting 19.5 last September. The continued advance by the headline index came as the shipments index spiked to 22.2 in March from 0.3 in February, reaching its highest level since January 2025.

The number of employees index also rose to a positive 0.8 in March from a negative 1.3 in February, suggesting mostly steady employment overall. Meanwhile, the new orders index fell to 8.6 in March from 11.7 in February, but the positive reading still indicates growth.

The regional manufacturing activity was little changed in the month of March; its general business conditions index fell to a negative 0.2 in March from a positive 7.1 in February, with a negative reading indicating contraction. 03/19/2026 - 10:13:00 (RTTNews)

Bank of England Stands Pat on Rate

British Pounds traded at 1.3353 against USD at 9:00 AM PST

The Bank of England (BoE) maintained its interest rate but raised market expectations for a rate hike as policymakers said they were ready to act as necessary to bring inflation back on track. The Monetary Policy Committee, governed by Andrew Bailey, voted unanimously to maintain Bank Rate at 3.75%.

The current rate was the lowest since June 2023. Previously, the BoE had reduced the rate by 25 basis points each in August and November last year.  The committee said it will continue to monitor the situation in the Middle East and its impact on global energy supply and energy prices. 03/19/2026 - 08:55:00 (RTTNews)

Bank of Japan Keeps Policy Rate Unchanged

The Bank of Japan maintained its interest rate on Thursday. The policy board, headed by Ueda Kazuo, decided by an 8-1 majority vote to hold the interest rate at around 0.75%.

At the meeting, the lone dissenter, Takata Hajime, proposed to raise the interest rate by 25 basis points as he assessed that the price stability target had been achieved and that risks to prices in Japan were skewed to the upside. The bank raised its interest rate by 25 basis points to the current level in December 2025.

Core inflation has temporarily decelerated to below 2%, with the waning of the effects of the rise in food prices, partly because of government measures to address rising prices; it is noted that there has been a recent rise in crude oil prices due to the conflict in the Middle East.

The bank said it will conduct monetary policy as appropriate in response to developments in economic activity, prices, and financial conditions with a view to achieving a sustainable and stable inflation target.03/19/2026 - 03:02:00 (RTTNews)