With the Russian invasion of its neighbour hammering all assets across the board as uncertainty reigns supreme, traders were given a much-needed shaft of light on Wednesday when the Fed boss eased concerns over its plans for tightening policy.
The comments soothed concerns that officials could announce an aggressive 50-basis-point lift. The issue of Fed tightening has cast a pall over markets for months, bringing a near two-year rally to an abrupt end, and that has now been compounded by the Ukraine crisis. Still, Powell's comments were able to "appease risk-markets by ruling out a 50 basis-points hike in March, while simultaneously promising inflation vigilance at following meetings", said Citigroup strategists William O'Donnell and Edward Acton.And Asia followed suit with Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Seoul and Singapore leading healthy gains.But analysts warned of further volatility for some time as the war continues to rage in Ukraine.
On Thursday Brent continued to storm higher, hitting $118 a barrel for the first time since early 2013.