The greenback steals the limelight once again. It seems no one can make up their mind about where interest rates are heading. The Dollar Currency Index has gained consistently since the start of the year, blasting through the 103 level on Tuesday with very little opposition. Many traders are taking the position that interest rate cuts were priced in far too early and the Dollar still has time to shine.
Christopher Waller, an official from the Federal Reserve, noted on Tuesday that inflation is slowing down and on track to reach the Fed’s long-term target of 2%. The promising data is coupled with solid growth and hiring, paving the way for interest rates to be cut sometime during this year. Wall Street currently expecting the first cut to arrive in March.
US markets were closed on Monday due to Martin Luther King Jr Day, leading way to a mixed response on Tuesday. The Dow Jones opened low only to fall even further in intra-day trading, before recovering later in the day to finish 0.62% in the red. The S&P 500 was a bit more muted, closing the day 0.37% lower, and the Nasdaq lost a mere 0.19% on the day.
The strength in the Dollar was mirrored by weakness in gold on Tuesday, culminating in losses of 1.28% down to $2028 an ounce. Oil appears similarly lost for the time being, Brent Crude currently hovering around the $77 a barrel mark, West Texas Intermediate at $72.
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