Inflation is characterised by a sustained and rapid growth in prices, as measured by indicators like Consumer Price Index or Producer Price Index over months or years.
It was not a surprise the Japanese central bank kept monetary policy steady during the meeting on Friday, as well as maintaining the view the domestic economy is improving moderately.
The U.K. economy has posted a 0.8% growth in the third quarter, unchanged after the final revision, while the economic expansion between Q3 2012 and the same period this year stood at the upwardly revised 1.9%, or 0.4% higher than the previous estimate.
Finally, this nervous week is over. Investors can now breath out, as the Fed began tapering its stimulus.
Amid optimism about recently-agreed deal on the banking union and some positive trends in economic indicators, analysts started to believe the economy is in a better stance than the ECB has stated.
Disappointment. This is how the market reaction on the FOMC meeting this week can be described.
There have been a lot of prerequisites to suggest the New Zealand economy has a great potential to speed up in the third quarter, and the report from Statistics New Zealand surprised markets on the upside.
The Japanese Yen was trading around 104 against the greenback on Thursday after the FOMC meeting.
The Sterling rested in the negative territory on Thursday against the U.S. Dollar as data from the ONS showed retail sales came in line with analysts' forecasts in November, albeit figure was significantly stronger than the previous month's reading.
When announcing the tapering Bernanke cited stronger labour market as the main reason to begin unwinding its programme of bond buying.
The tapering announcement by the Fed was supposed to move EUR/USD strongly downwards; however, welcoming signs from Europe have almost outweighed Bernanke's decision, with the most traded currency pair falling to just 1.3649.
The kiwi was sold in 75% of all cases across the board on Wednesday, while 73% of traders were holding short positions on NZD/USD, suggesting New Zealand currency will depreciate.
It seems that investors have lost their interest in Swiss fundamental data, and the only thing that has some impact on the Franc's exchange rate are SNB meetings, where they usually reiterate the pledge to defend the cap for as long as it is needed.
The Pound soared against other major currencies on Wednesday after data showed the unemployment rate unexpectedly fell to the lowest level since April 2009 through the three-month period to October, inching closer to the BoE's target and raising fears of a looming hike in interest rates.
Finally this day has come– it is the last Federal Reserve's Open Market Committee before 2014.
Following better-than-expected German ZEW economic sentiment, IFO Institute said the business climate in the Eurozone's number one economy advanced for a second straight month in December, supporting the case of a quickening growth.
It seems that the AUD/USD currency pair has found a strong support level around 0.89, as the pair is refusing to go any lower.
Canada's factory sales increased more than expected in September, adding to previous gains, on the back of solid food sales and swelling new orders.
The Sterling has been losing ground versus the single currency since the beginning of December, and the pair is approaching a strong resistance at 0.85, which could be the perfect entry point for short positions.
Tuesday's inflation report was the last standing in a queue of important economic data before the FOMC meeting, hence, it can play a decisive role in Bernanke's decision.
The single currency was little changed against the U.S. Dollar on Tuesday even despite welcoming fundamental data that showed inflation came in line with analysts' forecasts, while a gauge of German investor confidence soared to the highest level in more than seven years in December.
New Zealand's economy is on the right track.
The Japanese Yen rebounded versus the U.S. Dollar in the beginning of the week, capping some of earlier losses after the Japanese central bank posted better-than-expected data from manufacturing sector.
The Pound appreciated for the first time in four days against the U.S. Dollar, as an industry report showed Britain's home prices fell for a second straight month in December, providing some relief on the government and decreasing risk of a growing housing bubble.