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- The US Dollar off session’s low against most major peers.
- US President Trump deliver softer comments that tariffs on China might not finally be imposed.
- The US Dollar Index (DXY) still trades below 108.00 despite a small bounce off this week’s low.
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the performance of the US Dollar against six different major currencies, is emerging back above 107.50, though is still facing an intraday loss on Friday after US President Donald Trump left surprised with comments the previous day casting doubts on the application of tariffs on China. The comments came after Trump had a phone call with China’s President Xi Jinping. Meanwhile, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) hiked interest rates by 25 basis points, which triggered substantial losses for the US Dollar (USD) against the Japanese Yen (JPY).
In the economic data front, Markit has already released Germany’s Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) preliminary readings for January, with some strong upbeat numbers, fueling more Euro (EUR) strength against the US Dollar (USD). Later this Friday, the US will receive its S&P Global PMI preliminary readings for the same month. The University of Michigan will close off the day with the final reading of its Consumer Sentiment Index for January.
Daily digest market movers: Will and can the US outperform?
- US President Donald Trump released comments about his phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping. He surprised markets by saying he does not want to impose tariffs on China, Bloomberg reported.
- US President Trump commented on the Federal Reserve and US rates, affirming that he would demand an immediate cut in US interest rates, Bloomberg reports.
- Germany saw its preliminary Services PMI jump to 52.5 in January, beating the 51.0 estimate and above the previous 51.2. The Composite PMI was able to head out of contraction, reaching 50.1 and beating the expected 48.2 and the previous 48.0.
- At 14:45 GMT, the US will receive its PMI preliminary reading for January from S&P Global:
- Services are expected to soften to 56.5, coming from 56.8 in December’s final reading.
- Manufacturing is expected to remain in contraction at 49.6, coming from 49.4.
- At 15:00 GMT, the University of Michigan’s final reading for its Consumer Sentiment Index for January is expected to remain stable at 73.2. The 5-year inflation expectation component is also set to remain unchanged at 3.3%.
- Equities are mixed, with China and Europe in positive territory as markets tune down Trump’s tariffs risk. However, US equities look sluggish and trade flat.
- The CME FedWatch tool projects a 52.2% chance that interest rates will remain unchanged at current levels in the May meeting, suggesting a rate cut in June. Expectations are that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will remain data-dependent with uncertainties that could influence inflation during US President Donald Trump’s term.
- The US 10-year yield is trading around 4.654%, off its poor performance seen earlier this week at 4.528% and still has a long way to go back to the more-than-one-year high from last week at 4.807%.
US Dollar Index Technical Analysis: Is that underdelivering
The US Dollar Index (DXY) is taking some punches and heading lower, hand in hand with US yields. Although US President Trump might suddenly soften his stance on tariffs, it is still early in his term to rule out any tariff implementation on China and other countries. Tail risks are forming, with markets starting to downplay the actual stance, which might still see the US Dollar rally if Trump slaps tariffs on China.
The DXY has its work cut out to recover to levels seen at the start of this week. First, the big psychological level at 108.00 needs to be recovered. From there, 109.29 (July 14, 2022, high and rising trendline) is next to pare back incurred losses from this week. Further up, the next upside level to hit before advancing further remains at 110.79 (September 7, 2022, high).
On the downside, the convergence of the high of October 3, 2023 and the 55-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) around 107.50 should act as a double safety feature to support the DXY price. For now, that looks to be holding, though the Relative Strength Index (RSI) still has some room left to the downside. Hence, rather look for 106.52 or even 105.89 as better levels for US Dollar bulls to engage and trigger a reversal.
US Dollar Index: Daily Chart
Central banks FAQs
Central Banks have a key mandate which is making sure that there is price stability in a country or region. Economies are constantly facing inflation or deflation when prices for certain goods and services are fluctuating. Constant rising prices for the same goods means inflation, constant lowered prices for the same goods means deflation. It is the task of the central bank to keep the demand in line by tweaking its policy rate. For the biggest central banks like the US Federal Reserve (Fed), the European Central Bank (ECB) or the Bank of England (BoE), the mandate is to keep inflation close to 2%.
A central bank has one important tool at its disposal to get inflation higher or lower, and that is by tweaking its benchmark policy rate, commonly known as interest rate. On pre-communicated moments, the central bank will issue a statement with its policy rate and provide additional reasoning on why it is either remaining or changing (cutting or hiking) it. Local banks will adjust their savings and lending rates accordingly, which in turn will make it either harder or easier for people to earn on their savings or for companies to take out loans and make investments in their businesses. When the central bank hikes interest rates substantially, this is called monetary tightening. When it is cutting its benchmark rate, it is called monetary easing.
A central bank is often politically independent. Members of the central bank policy board are passing through a series of panels and hearings before being appointed to a policy board seat. Each member in that board often has a certain conviction on how the central bank should control inflation and the subsequent monetary policy. Members that want a very loose monetary policy, with low rates and cheap lending, to boost the economy substantially while being content to see inflation slightly above 2%, are called ‘doves’. Members that rather want to see higher rates to reward savings and want to keep a lit on inflation at all time are called ‘hawks’ and will not rest until inflation is at or just below 2%.
Normally, there is a chairman or president who leads each meeting, needs to create a consensus between the hawks or doves and has his or her final say when it would come down to a vote split to avoid a 50-50 tie on whether the current policy should be adjusted. The chairman will deliver speeches which often can be followed live, where the current monetary stance and outlook is being communicated. A central bank will try to push forward its monetary policy without triggering violent swings in rates, equities, or its currency. All members of the central bank will channel their stance toward the markets in advance of a policy meeting event. A few days before a policy meeting takes place until the new policy has been communicated, members are forbidden to talk publicly. This is called the blackout period.
