The US Dollar Index (DXY), which measures the value of the US Dollar (USD) against six major currencies, is steadying after registering more than 0.50% gains in the previous session. The DXY is trading around 99.60 during the European hours on Wednesday. Traders await the FOMC Minutes due later in the North American session.
The US Dollar is gaining support amid growing optimism among US consumers following the Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index rising to 98.0 in May from the previous 86.0 reading. Additionally, the emergence of bond market optimism is supporting the Greenback, driven by Japan’s plans for potential cuts in government debt issuance.
Additionally, the Greenback received support as US yields fell, driven by pressure on the global yields following Japan’s indication of potential cuts in government debt issuance, which has boosted global bond markets. On Monday, Japan's Ministry of Finance asked for feedback from market participants on bond issuance and the current market situation, according to Bloomberg. The Japanese government could potentially be concerned since long-term yields surged, with the yield on 20-year notes reaching historical highs last week.
Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams emphasized the importance of inflation expectations should be well anchored. Williams wants to avoid inflation becoming highly persistent because that could become permanent by responding relatively strongly when inflation begins to deviate from the target. On Tuesday, Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said that policymakers should avoid any adjustment in interest rates until reaching clear estimations of the impact on inflation due to higher tariffs.
The table below shows the percentage change of US Dollar (USD) against listed major currencies today. US Dollar was the strongest against the Canadian Dollar.
USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
USD | 0.09% | 0.03% | -0.12% | 0.10% | -0.00% | -0.34% | 0.00% | |
EUR | -0.09% | -0.03% | -0.16% | 0.01% | -0.08% | -0.39% | -0.04% | |
GBP | -0.03% | 0.03% | -0.12% | 0.09% | -0.03% | -0.03% | 0.00% | |
JPY | 0.12% | 0.16% | 0.12% | 0.20% | 0.10% | -0.20% | 0.20% | |
CAD | -0.10% | -0.01% | -0.09% | -0.20% | -0.09% | -0.39% | -0.09% | |
AUD | 0.00% | 0.08% | 0.03% | -0.10% | 0.09% | 0.02% | 0.04% | |
NZD | 0.34% | 0.39% | 0.03% | 0.20% | 0.39% | -0.02% | 0.02% | |
CHF | -0.00% | 0.04% | -0.00% | -0.20% | 0.09% | -0.04% | -0.02% |
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).