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28 May 2024
US Dollar wafts ahead of GDP, PCE data
- Strong Consumer Confidence and Housing sector data didn’t trigger movements in the USD.
- Next highlight will be Wednesday’s Fed's Beige Book report where markets will get a clearer outlook on the US economy’s health.
- PCE and GDP revisions are the week’s highlights.
The US Dollar Index (DXY) is slowly declining as US markets prepare for the release of economic data this week. On Tuesday, the US reported strong Confidence and Housing sector data, but the USD remains soft ahead of high-tier data to be released during the week.
Despite some mild losses and the markets continuing to give up hopes for an interest rate cut in June or July, the resilient US economy allows the Fed to maintain its cautious stance, which cushions the US Dollar. Thursday's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) will set the pace for bets on upcoming Federal Reserve (Fed) decisions. The current odds predict a first cut in September.
Daily digest market movers: DXY experiences mild losses despite strong low-tier data, focus on Fed's cautious stance
- The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence has come out stronger than expected at 102, versus the anticipated 96.
- Furthermore, the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices beat expectations with 7.4 YoY print in March.
- April’s Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE), the Fed’s preferred gauge of inflation, is seen remaining at 2.7% YoY for headline inflation and 2.8% for core. The Q1 GDP is expected to be revised higher.
- Outcome of this data will continue to shape expectations on the easing cycle, dictating the pace of the USD.
DXY technical analysis: Greenback witnesses sustained selling pressure and bear command
The daily chart indicators continue to show mounting steady bearish momentum in the DXY. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) maintains a negative slope and remains in a selling zone, indicating prevailing selling pressure. This is even more evident with the red bars of the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) indicator that showcase bearish momentum.
In terms of Simple Moving Averages (SMAs), despite the DXY operating below the 20-day SMA and displaying bears’ short-term efficiency, it continues to remain above the 100 and 200-day SMAs, suggesting bulls have relative strength over a more extended timeline.
US Dollar FAQs
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.