US Dollar flat with Powell set to head for Capitol Hill

• The US Dollar trades flat on Tuesday after a choppy Monday session. 
• Focus shifts to Fed Chairman Jerome Powell as French political headlines fade. 
• The US Dollar index hovers around 105.00 with a small bounce-off support. 

The US Dollar (USD) trades roughly flat in the European session on Tuesday, with the dust settling over the French election outcome. Headlines are fading fast, and markets are digesting the results quite quickly. The main takeaway is that not much will change for France, seeing the near-impossible coalition formation. Traders do not bother any further on Tuesday and instead focus on US Federal Reserve (Fed) Chairman Jerome Powell, who will deliver a testimony at the Congressional Financial Committee on monetary policy and the US economy. 

On the economic front, some relatively soft and third-party data come out from the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) and the TechnoMetrica Institute of Policy and Politics (TIPP). On the central banking front, as already mentioned, all eyes will be on Fed Chairman Powell. Though Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr and Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman should not be disregarded for possibly delivering some good remarks during the day. 

Daily digest market movers: Back to normal programming

• The dust is settling quickly over the French election news. Expect this topic to fade into the background completely, as it will take a long time before any coalition will get formed in France. 
• The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) already has released its numbers: the monthly Business Optimism Index for June jumped from 90.5 to 91.5, beating the 89.5 estimate.
• At 12:55 GMT, the weekly Redbook Index for the week ending July 5 is expected. The previous week, the number came in at 5.8%.
• At 14:00 GMT, the TechnoMetrica Institute of Policy and Politics (TIPP) will release the Economic Optimism Index for July. The previous reading was at 40.5, with no forecast available. 
• The US Treasury will allocate a 52-week bill at 15:30 GMT and a 3-year note at 17:00 GMT.
• Three US Federal Reserve speakers are making their way to the stage on Tuesday:
  • At 13:15 GMT, Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr gives a speech titled "Financial Inclusion: Past, Present, and Hopes for the Future" at the Financial Inclusion Practices and Innovation Conference, in Washington, United States.
  • Fed Chairman Jerome Powell delivers “The Semiannual Monetary Policy Report" to the US Congress in Washington. His speech will be published in full just minutes before his verbal delivery at Congress begins near 14:00 GMT. 
  • At 17:30 GMT, Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman delivers a speech titled "Promoting an Inclusive Financial System" at the Financial Inclusion Practices and Innovation Conference, in Washington.
• This morning, equity markets painted a remarkable picture: both Asian and US indices are up, while Europe is lagging, with all major European indices down.
• The CME Fedwatch Tool is broadly backing a rate cut in September despite recent comments from Fed officials. The odds now stand at 73.6% for a 25-basis-point cut. A rate pause stands at a 22.9% chance, while a 50-basis-point rate cut has a slim 3.5% possibility. 
• The US 10-year benchmark rate trades at 4.29%, near its weekly low. 

US Dollar Index Technical Analysis: Powell to say boring things

The US Dollar Index (DXY) is back to square one this week after the small losses registered on Monday that occurred on the back of the French election outcome in Europe. With a government formation now in total gridlock, markets can write off France for the coming months as no risk anymore and quickly dial in on the speech from US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. Expectations are that Powell will repeat that the Fed remains data-dependent, more needs to be done, though that disinflation is on the right trajectory with rates remaining stable, pushing forward any change in monetary stance to the Jackson Hole Symposium by late August.

On the upside, the 55-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) at 105.16 remains the first resistance. Should that level be reclaimed again, 105.53 and 105.89 are the next nearby pivotal levels. In case Fed Chairman Powell delivers some hawkish comments before Congress,  the red descending trend line in the chart around 106.23 and April’s peak at 106.52 could come into play. 

On the downside, the risk of a nosedive move is increasing, with only the double support at 104.78, which is the confluence of the 100-day SMA and the green ascending trend line from December 2023, still in place. Should that double layer give way, the 200-day SMA at 104.43 is the gatekeeper that should catch the DXY and avoid further declines. Further down, the correction could head to 104.00 as an initial stage. 

US Dollar Index: Daily Chart