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- US Dollar dips as investors take profits, Mester's words weigh on Greenback
US Dollar dips as investors take profits, Mester's words weigh on Greenback
- The DXY declined to 104.20 on Tuesday.
- The US service sector continues to show robustness, making markets disregard an interest rate cut in March.
- US Treasury yields continue to rise, boosting the Greenback.
The US Dollar (USD) Index, currently trading at 104.20, has been on a downward trend due to investors cashing in their profits alongside the impact of statements from Loretta Mester, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. Mester warned about the risks of doing too much in terms of tight monetary policy and how it could affect the labor market.
The US Federal Reserve's hawkish hold, justified by a robust jobs report and continuous strong growth in Q1, made expectations for Federal Reserve (Fed) rate cuts begin to wane. This has favored the Greenback in the last few sessions. Several other Fed officials will be on the wires during the week, and they may dictate the pace of the USD as markets await fresh economic reports.
Daily digest market movers: US Dollar declines on the back of lower US Treasury yields
- Fed’s Loretta Mester commented that the bank should be attentive to risk that the labor market will cool faster than expected in reaction to restrictive monetary policy.
- She also added that the Fed will gain the confidence to cut this year.
- US Treasury yields are declining with 2-year, 5-year and 10-year bonds trading at of 4.40%, 4.04% and 4.09%, respectively.
- CME's FedWatch Tool hints at lesser odds for a rate cut in March, which currently stand at 15%. Those odds rise to 50% for the May meeting, but the probabilities of a hold are also high.
Technical analysis: DXY bulls give up the 20-day SMA while taking profits
The indicators on the daily chart are reflecting a short-term shift in momentum toward the sellers, yet the long-term trend still seemingly remains in favor of the bulls. Despite a negative slope, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) is holding onto positive territory, suggesting a pullback or period of consolidation instead of a major trend reversal.
The flat green bars in the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) indicate potential indecision in the market where the momentum could easily shift in favor of buyers with the right catalyst. However, this flat-lining action in the MACD may also signify exhaustion from buyers, hinting that bears might soon step in to take control.
Given the index position with relation to its Simple Moving Averages (SMAs), the bulls, although weakened recently due to profit-booking, seem to have a major say in the broader trend. The DXY is trading above the 100 and 200-day SMAs, suggesting an overall bullish bias in the longer-term market sentiment even though it slipped underneath the 20-day SMA.
US Dollar FAQs
What is the US Dollar?
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.
How do the decisions of the Federal Reserve impact the US Dollar?
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.
What is Quantitative Easing and how does it influence the US Dollar?
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.
What is Quantitative Tightening and how does it influence the 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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