USD: Yields slide and Dollar softens – Rabobank

Rabobank’s Global Daily notes US Treasury yields have fallen for two sessions as Fed Chair Powell downplayed the need for rate hikes and markets reassessed inflation risks. The report highlights a sharp shift in Fed OIS pricing from modest hikes to expected cuts by 2026, with the Dollar weakening and the DXY Index dropping below 100.

Lower yields pressure Dollar broadly

"US Treasury yields have been falling for the past two days. On Monday, we saw US rates grind lower after Powell gave a speech at Harvard University where he seemed to hint that hikes were not part of the Fed’s plan for the immediate future, noting that “tariffs have a one-time impact on inflation” and that “there are risks to both sides of the mandate.” In times like these where inflation fears have been the headline, Powell’s refusal to doomspeak on the inflationary impacts of the war and elevated energy prices said enough on its own."

"Yet, markets have returned to taking headlines as gospel and 2 year yields closed down more than 3bp yesterday. Meanwhile, whereas last Friday the OIS curve indicated investors were positioned for around 6bp worth of hikes from the Fed by 2026 year-end, yesterday they were positioned for 8bp worth of cuts. USD came under pressure due to the broad move in yields as the DXY Index closed down 0.65%, back below the 100-handle for the first time since Friday."

"USD weakness was especially visible against the euro, with EUR/USD closing the day up 0.80%, back to 1.15. We will also note that yesterday was the end of March and the end of Q1, so some of yesterday’s price action may also be a result of rebalancing flows."

(This article was created with the help of an Artificial Intelligence tool and reviewed by an editor.)