Forex
Dollar stabilizes ahead of key employment data; euro slips back
Investing.com – The U.S. dollar edged higher in early European trade Tuesday, rebounding after steep overnight losses, while the euro slipped lower after weak German employment data.
At 04:45 ET (08:45 GMT), the Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six other currencies, rose 0.1% to 104.165, after earlier dipping below 104 for the first time since April 9.
JOLTs data in spotlight
The dollar has stabilized Tuesday following sharp losses at the start of the week after data showed a second straight month of slowdown in manufacturing activity and an unexpected decline in construction spending.
Signs of economic weakness boosted the possibility of the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates later this year, with fed funds futures now putting the chances of a rate cut in September at around 59%, according to LSEG data, up from around 55% on Friday.
There is more important labor due later in the session, in the form of the for April, a keenly-watched precursor to Friday’s key monthly U.S. .
“The dollar is starting to show signs of weakness,” said analysts at ING, in a note. “Today’s U.S. JOLTS job openings data could determine whether recent dollar losses are just idle range-trading or the start of an important new trend. We certainly see downside risks to the dollar today.”
Euro slips after weak German employment data
In Europe, traded 0.1% lower to 1.0888, retreating after the pair climbed as 1.0916 earlier in the session for the first time since March 21.
The number of people rose more than expected in May, data showed earlier Tuesday, growing 25,000 in seasonally adjusted terms, above the 10,000 expected.
“The spring recovery did not really get going this year,” said labour office head Andrea Nahles. “Improvement is still a long time coming.”
The has signaled an interest rate cut at its next meeting on Thursday, but a pick-up in inflation in data last week may give officials pause when considering when next to ease.
fell 0.2% to 1.2776, falling after earlier climbing to its highest level since March 14.
The holds a potentially pivotal policy meeting later this month, and traders are watching for clues on when its rate-cutting cycle will start.
Japanese yen sees demand
In Asia, traded 0.5% lower to 155.34, with the yen continuing to gain against the dollar after falling overnight below 156 for the first time since May 21.
The meets later this month, and traders will be looking for clues as to whether another hike is on the cards.
traded 0.1% higher at 7.2439, staying close to recent six-month highs as sentiment towards China remained weak.
rose 0.5% to 83.494, with the Indian rupee retreating after early indications suggesting a narrow win for Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the closely-watched 2024 general election.
While a win still presents a rare third term for Modi, a smaller majority than he had hoped for suggests greater difficulty in instigating economic reforms.
Investing.com – The US dollar has gained more ground as the US presidential election draws near, UBS noted, with the market seeing rising odds of a win for Republican candidate Donald Trump.
A new USD-positive over the past week has been media reports of somewhat better outlook for Donald Trump in the latest polls, as outcomes that allow for policies such as more aggressive tariffs are viewed as more USD positive.
“Higher odds of a Trump presidency are likely to be associated with a stronger USD near term,” said analysts at UBS, in a note dated Oct. 16.
Where does this leave us now with our USD views?
Our expected ranges between Sep–Dec 2024 incorporated the possibility of a material USD rebound between now and year end, even if our year-end forecasts see a modestly lower USD from current levels.
Last week, with an eye to our year end forecast, we entered a long call reverse knockout, but we are not willing to implement a similar trade yet for and .
The spot is still far enough from our range extremes and high JPY implied volatility and negative carry make long JPY positions unattractive so close to US elections.
Turning to this week’s ECB meeting, the market is very confident that another 25bp rate cut will be delivered and we do not have a strong reason to disagree.
Market expectations are very muted for any form of surprise, and risk reversal skews bid again for EUR puts point to a market that is already primed for the risk of EUR softness.
With market pricing in line with our economists’ terminal rate expectations, we see EUR/USD as more exposed to US developments near-term, leaving us reluctant to fade recent softness on ECB reasons alone.
At 06:30 ET (10:30 GMT), EUR/USD rose 0.1% to 1.0894, USD/JPY gained 0.1% to 149.34 and AUD/USD fell 0.2% to 0.6685.
Investing.com – The European Central Bank holds its latest policy-setting meeting later this week, and Citigroup advises selling any rallies in the euro around this key event.
Markets are pricing in around 49 basis points of easing over the remaining two ECB meetings this year, which could limit dovish repricing around Thursday’s event, according to analysts at Citi, in a note dated Oct. 15.
“We see scope for a tactical bounce in EUR around this Thursday’s ECB meeting, which we like fading into November as US election risk premium materializes,” Citi said.
That said, “we like fading any subsequent rallies in EUR as we approach November and US election risk premium gets better priced.”
There is some evidence of this unfolding, the bank added, as EUR looks undervalued on its short-term fair value model and as Citi’s FX Positioning data suggests adding to EUR shorts.
“But our broader FX election basket still screens as undervalued relative to Trump betting markets, and we remain short EURUSD in both spot and options,” says Citi. “We would look to sell any retest of the 1.10 double top neckline — any break above there risks a move towards our adjusted stop of 1.1050, but if that resistance holds, we have higher conviction of a move towards our (and the double top) target of 1.08, with potential overshoot towards 1.07.”
At 05:25 ET (09:25 GMT), traded largely flat at 1.0892, almost 2% lower over the last month.
Investing.com – The U.S. dollar edged higher Wednesday, trading near two-month peaks on expectations of modest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve this year, while sterling slumped after benign inflation data.
At 04:15 ET (08:15 GMT), the Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six other currencies, traded 0.1% higher to 103.180, remaining close to Monday’s two-month peak.
Dollar helped by trimmed rate cut expectations
Recent data indicating a resilient economy coupled with slightly hotter-than-expected inflation in September have led market participants to trim bets for an aggressive U.S. rate reduction.
Adding to these expectations were comments from Atlanta Federal Reserve President on Tuesday, who said he had penciled in just one more interest rate reduction of 25 basis points this year when he updated his projections for last month’s U.S. central bank meeting.
Most market participants see two more cuts this year, totaling 50 bps, and traders currently lay 92% odds for a 25-basis-point cut when the Fed next decides policy on Nov. 7, with an 8% probability of no change, according to CME Group’s (NASDAQ:) FedWatch Tool.
Sterling slumps after inflation release
In Europe, slumped 0.5% to 1.3003, after data showed British inflation fell more than expected in September, paving the way for a rate cut next month.
The UK’s fell to 1.7% on an annual basis, below the forecast 1.9% and the 2.2% recorded a month earlier.
This was the first time it had fallen below the Bank of England’s 2% target since April 2021, and added to data seen earlier in the week that showed British pay grew at its slowest pace in more than two years.
“The data is unequivocally dovish for the Bank of England and paves the way for rate cuts at the two remaining meetings this year (November and December),” said analysts at ING, in a note.
“Given the comments by Governor Andrew Bailey earlier this month suggesting the BoE could increase the pace of easing, markets may be tempted to price in some chance of a 50bp rate cut in November.”
traded 0.1% lower to 1.0882, ahead of Thursday’s policy-setting meeting by the European Central Bank.
The has already lowered rates twice this year and a cut to the 3.5% deposit rate this week is almost fully priced in by financial markets.
“EUR/USD is predominantly driven by external factors. The substantial drop in oil prices has narrowed the scope for a further drop based on market factors, but we continue to suspect that pre-US election positioning should favor a weaker EUR/USD,” said ING.
Yuan nurses weekly losses
fell slightly to 7.1179, with the yuan nursing losses this week as sentiment soured over the country’s plans for more stimulus.
China’s Ministry of Finance said it will enact a slew of fiscal measures to boost growth, but did not specify the timing or size of the planned measures, spurring uncertainty over its effectiveness.
rose 0.2% to 149.43, with the pair climbing closer to the 150 resistance level.
data due later this week is expected to offer more cues on the Bank of Japan’s plans to hike rates further.
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