The US Dollar (USD) measured by the US Dollar Index (DXY) rose toward 106.90, its highest level since early October, seeing nearly a 0.3% gain and then settled at 106.60 on Thursday. Since Tuesday, the DXY index has gained more than 1%, and the Greenback is outperforming its rivals as strong economic data increases its demand. However, dovish bets on the Federal Reserve (Fed) may limit those gains.
The United States economy is holding resilient and has yet to show signs of weakness from the Fed’s aggressive monetary tightening. During this week, the US reported that the S&P PMIs from October came in higher than expected, and the preliminary estimation of the Q3 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) also trounced consensus. On Friday, the US will release Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) figures from September, which may have an additional impact on the Greenback’s price dynamics.
According to the daily chart, the technical outlook for the DXY Index remains neutral to bullish as the bulls are recovering ground and assert themselves above the 20-day Simple Moving Average (SMA). The Relative Strength Index (RSI) exhibits a positive slope above the 50 threshold, while the Moving Average Convergence (MACD) displays lower red bars. To add to that, the pair is above the 20,100 and 200-day SMAs, suggesting that the bulls are firmly in control of the bigger picture.
Supports: 106.35 (20-day SMA), 106.00, 105.70.
Resistances: 107.00, 107.30, 107.50.
The US Dollar (USD) is the official currency of the United States of America, and the ‘de facto’ currency of a significant number of other countries where it is found in circulation alongside local notes. It is the most heavily traded currency in the world, accounting for over 88% of all global foreign exchange turnover, or an average of $6.6 trillion in transactions per day, according to data from 2022.
Following the second world war, the USD took over from the British Pound as the world’s reserve currency. For most of its history, the US Dollar was backed by Gold, until the Bretton Woods Agreement in 1971 when the Gold Standard went away.
The most important single factor impacting on the value of the US Dollar is monetary policy, which is shaped by the Federal Reserve (Fed). The Fed has two mandates: to achieve price stability (control inflation) and foster full employment. Its primary tool to achieve these two goals is by adjusting interest rates.
When prices are rising too quickly and inflation is above the Fed’s 2% target, the Fed will raise rates, which helps the USD value. When inflation falls below 2% or the Unemployment Rate is too high, the Fed may lower interest rates, which weighs on the Greenback.
In extreme situations, the Federal Reserve can also print more Dollars and enact quantitative easing (QE). QE is the process by which the Fed substantially increases the flow of credit in a stuck financial system.
It is a non-standard policy measure used when credit has dried up because banks will not lend to each other (out of the fear of counterparty default). It is a last resort when simply lowering interest rates is unlikely to achieve the necessary result. It was the Fed’s weapon of choice to combat the credit crunch that occurred during the Great Financial Crisis in 2008. It involves the Fed printing more Dollars and using them to buy US government bonds predominantly from financial institutions. QE usually leads to a weaker US Dollar.
Quantitative tightening (QT) is the reverse process whereby the Federal Reserve stops buying bonds from financial institutions and does not reinvest the principal from the bonds it holds maturing in new purchases. It is usually positive for the US Dollar.
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