US Dollar Index tumbles to 97.00 ahead of Fed’s policy announcement
- The US Dollar declines to near 97.00 at the start of the week, the lowest level seen in four months.
- Investors turn cautious over Washington’s long-term relations with its trading partners.
- The Fed is seen holding interest rates steady on Wednesday.
The US Dollar (USD) starts the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) monetary policy week on a negative note. The US Dollar Index (DXY), which gauges the Greenback’s value against six major currencies, trades 0.4% lower to near 97.00 during the Asian trading session.
US Dollar Price Today
The table below shows the percentage change of US Dollar (USD) against listed major currencies today. US Dollar was the weakest against the Japanese Yen.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | -0.29% | -0.12% | -1.00% | -0.05% | -0.23% | -0.17% | -0.53% | |
| EUR | 0.29% | 0.17% | -0.70% | 0.24% | 0.06% | 0.12% | -0.23% | |
| GBP | 0.12% | -0.17% | -0.84% | 0.07% | -0.10% | -0.05% | -0.40% | |
| JPY | 1.00% | 0.70% | 0.84% | 0.95% | 0.77% | 0.83% | 0.48% | |
| CAD | 0.05% | -0.24% | -0.07% | -0.95% | -0.18% | -0.11% | -0.47% | |
| AUD | 0.23% | -0.06% | 0.10% | -0.77% | 0.18% | 0.06% | -0.29% | |
| NZD | 0.17% | -0.12% | 0.05% | -0.83% | 0.11% | -0.06% | -0.35% | |
| CHF | 0.53% | 0.23% | 0.40% | -0.48% | 0.47% | 0.29% | 0.35% |
The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the US Dollar from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the Japanese Yen, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent USD (base)/JPY (quote).
Market experts believe that the alienation of allies from one another is forcing countries to reduce their exposure to the US Dollar and United States (US) assets, increasing the appeal of other safe-haven assets.
Washington’s long-term relations with its trading partners have severely impacted after last week’s tussle between several European Union (EU) and the US over Greenland’s future.
Danish pension operator AkademikerPension said it is exiting $100 million position in US Treasuries. Analysts stated that the fund is doing so because of poor US government finances amid its debt crisis, CNBC reported. The fund clarified that the decision is not directly related to ongoing disputes between both the economies; however, that rift didn’t make it more difficult to take the decision.
On the domestic front, investors await the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) monetary policy announcement on Wednesday. The Fed is expected to leave interest rates unchanged in the range of 3.50%-3.75%.
In Monday’s session, investors will focus on US Durable Goods Orders data for November, which will be published at 13:30 GMT.
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.
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