(Bloomberg) -- A dollar gauge fell Friday, capping the biggest weekly decline in eight months. The yen, Swiss franc and British pound were the top performers against the greenback on the day.
- The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.7% Friday; weekly loss is 1.6%, the worst since May
- Traders are rushing to hedge against swings in the US dollar with the cost of one-month option contracts tied to the index rose to the highest since September
- US consumer sentiment increased to a five-month high in January. The final January sentiment index rose 3.5 points from a month earlier to 56.4, exceeding the preliminary reading, according to the University of Michigan
- Recent data pointed to solid growth in the US and markets see almost no chances of a rate cut next week
- “The dollar’s decline this weak was driven primarily by geopolitical risk concerns,” said Andrew Hazlett, a foreign-exchange trader at Monex Inc. With the recent economic data, “I wouldn’t expect the Fed to make any move next week,” he said
- The loonie was supported by the rise in oil prices; oil advanced as traders factored in the possibility of US military action in Iran
- GBP/USD rose 1% to 1.3634; USD/CHF down more than 1% to 0.7807
- Some information come from FX traders familiar with the transactions who asked not to be identified because they aren’t authorized to speak publicly
Reporting by Anya Andrianova and Vassilis Karamanis
