European Central Bank Preview: Lagarde needs to repeat her hawkish message.

GBP/USD snapped a three-day losing streak on Wednesday and gained more than 50 pips. The pair stays in a consolidation phase slightly below 1.2400 early Thursday. The BOE is also forecast to opt for a 50 bps hike but investors refrain from betting on further Pound Sterling for now amid the possibility of the BOE pointing to an end to the tightening cycle on worsening growth outlook.

BoE Interest Rate Decision Preview: The last 50 bps hike but not the end yet.

USD/JPY lost more than 100 pips on Wednesday and broke below 129.00. Bank of Japan (BoJ) Deputy Governor Masazumi Wakatabe said early Thursday that the BoJ must not be complacent as downward price pressures remains farily strong. Following these comments, the pair stays relatively quiet slightly above 128.50.

Gold price capitalized on slumping US Treasury bond yields and surged to its strongest level since April near $1,960 before retreating toward $1,950. 

Bitcoin surged to its highest level since August above $24,200 late Wednesday but struggled to preserve its bullish momentum. BTC/USD was last seen moving sideways at around $23,800. Ethereum gained nearly 4% on Wednesday and continued to push higher early Thursday. At the time of press, ETH/USD was up 1.6% on a daily basis at $1,670.