The United States Dollar, along with most other major currencies, is trading in familiar small ranges this morning ahead of banking holidays in the US and the UK on Monday.
Overview
A slew of Fed speakers, along with CPI and PMI releases from around the world, did little to move the FX needle this week, and the Buck is set to close out today quite close to where markets opened on Monday. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index did manage to eke out a small gain on the week, roughly half a percent stronger than Monday’s opening level.
This week saw a fairly substantial readjustment of Fed cut expectations as many regional chairs stressed the need for further evidence that inflation is continuing to cool. This hesitancy also showed up in the Fed’s minutes from its May 1 policy decision, and markets now believe the Fed will cut interest rates just once this year – quite the downshift from the six 25-basis-point cuts markets saw coming back in December. As the Fed takes on a more hawkish tone, though, so have other major central banks around the world, muting such a shift’s impact on Dollar pricing. Global data releases trended hotter, in general, this week, and many monetary officials have started embracing the ‘higher-for-longer’ rhetorical approach in response. US durable goods orders followed suit this morning, growing 0.7% last month compared with expectations of a contraction.
Monex USA will be closed on Monday, May 27th, in observance of the Memorial Day banking holiday in the US. When markets reopen Tuesday morning, US stock trades will settle in one day rather than two.
What to Watch Today…
- Monex USA Online is always open.
