- The US Dollar edges higher as markets pair back overreaction from past Friday.
- Focus turns to US ISM data before markets close early on Monday in a shortened session.
- The US Dollar Index jumps back above 103.00, right in the middle of a one-month range.
The US Dollar (USD) is comfortably in the green halfway through the European trading session as for a few European countries, the Purchasing Manager Index in the Manufacturing sector contracted even on the final reading, making the EUR/USD dip lower. Markets meanwhile remain convinced that the US Federal Reverse and its Chairman Jerome Powell will deliver only one interest-rate hike and be done with the tightening cycle, even as he said multiple times last week that the Fed is committed to do at least two. On Monday, the Greenback advances again against most currencies after the firm correction on the back of PCE numbers on Friday.
Monday features a very short trading day ahead as traders will head out for the July 4 US national holiday. Bond trading and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) will close at 17:00 GMT and will remain shut on Tuesday. This means that the regular economic calendar is very condensed toward the end of the week with the US Jobs report (NFP) on Friday. On Monday, a batch of data from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) with focus on the Manufacturing sector is due at 14:00 GMT, broken down in the headline Purchasing Manager Index (PMI) and the Prices Paid, New Orders, and Employment subindexes.
Daily digest: US Dollar expected at lower volume on Monday
- With July 4 being a US national holiday, bear in mind that volume will be thinner as normal, with most exchanges in the US closing earlier and only offer a half-day of trading. The main New York Stock Exchange for example will already close at 17:00 GMT.
- Russia will cut oil expert by 500,000 barrels per day, together with Saudi Arabia that will cut 1 million barrels per day.
- China to limit exports of metals used in chips.
- US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is set to head to China July 6-9 in order to underpin and build trust and collaboration between the two nations.
- The S&P Global Manufacturing Purchasing Manager Index (PMI) data for June will be released at 13:45 GMT. The PMI is expected to be unchanged from its preliminary reading at 46.3.
- The ISM Manufacturing numbers will be published at 14:00 GMT. The headline PMI is expected to come in at 47.2 from 46.9. The New Orders Index is anticipated to head higher as well, from 42.6 to 44.0.
- Equities are firmly in the green in Asia. The Hang Seng jumps over 2% near its closing bell, while Japan already closed up 1.41% on Monday. European stocks are under a bit of pressure after Apple issued a warning that it needs to cut Vision Pro Headset production forecast models because of some production issues. US Equity Futures are in the green, except for the Dow Jones futures which are slightly subdued.
- The CME Group FedWatch Tool shows that markets are pricing in a 87.4% chance of a 25 basis points (bps) interest-rate hike on July 26. The dislocation between market expectations and what the Fed has been communicating in terms of number of rate hikes is still persistent and could trigger a stronger US Dollar once markets get to the point of realisation.
- The benchmark 10-year US Treasury bond yield trades at 3.84% and is not really making any big waves this Monday. Normally it should be a steady session for the US T-notes as bond trading will stop early with the US National holiday on Tuesday.
US Dollar Index technical analysis: USD in the green, though softer
The US Dollar is back in the green as traders are heading back into the Greenback, which is already halfway through paring back Friday’s losses. The US Dollar Index (DXY) already reclaimed 103.00 as a big figure and psychological level. In terms of positioning, it should not be a coincidence that the DXY is near the middle of a one-month-range and might stay around that point in a wait-and-hold pattern before choosing sides on the back of the US job report (NFP) on Friday.
On the upside, look for 103.54 as the next key resistance level which falls in line with the high of last week. The 200-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) at 104.94 is still quite far away. So the intermediary level to look for is the psychological level at 104.00 and May 31 peak at 104.70.
On the downside, the 55-day SMA near 102.72 has proven its importance as it clearly underpinned price action on Friday by triggering a turnaround after the firm weakening of the Greenback. A touch lower, 102.50 will be vital to hold from a psychological point of view. In case the DXY slips below 102.50, more weakness is expected with a full slide to 102.00 and a retest of June’s low at 101.92.
What is US Dollar Index (DXY)?
The US Dollar Index, also known as DXY or USDX, is a benchmark index that was established by the US Federal Reserve in 1973. DXY is widely used as a tool measuring the US Dollar (USD) value in global markets. The index is calculated by measuring the US Dollar’s performance against a basket of six foreign currencies, the Euro, the Japanese Yen (JPY), Swedish Krona (SEK), the British Pound (GBP), the Swiss Franc (CHF) and the Canadian Dollar (CAD).
With 57.6%, the Euro has the biggest weight in the index followed by the JPY (13.6%), GBP (11.9%), CAD (9.1%), SEK (4.2%), and CHF (3.6%). Hence, a sharp decline in the EUR/USD pair could help the US Dollar Index rise even if the US Dollar weakens against some of the other currencies in the basket.