Forex Today: US Dollar retreats on fiscal concerns, Pound Sterling rises to multi-year highs
Here is what you need to know on Friday, May 23:
The US Dollar (USD) struggles to hold its ground against its rivals on Friday after posting marginal gains on Thursday. The European Central Bank (ECB) will publish Negotiated Wage Rates data for the first quarter. Later in the day, New Home Sales for April will be the only data featured in the US economic calendar. Heading into the weekend, investors will continue to pay close attention to speeches from central bank policymakers.
US Dollar PRICE This week
The table below shows the percentage change of US Dollar (USD) against listed major currencies this week. US Dollar was the weakest against the British Pound.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | -1.34% | -1.44% | -1.33% | -1.13% | -0.74% | -1.00% | -1.27% | |
| EUR | 1.34% | -0.12% | 0.05% | 0.27% | 0.73% | 0.40% | 0.07% | |
| GBP | 1.44% | 0.12% | -0.12% | 0.40% | 0.85% | 0.53% | 0.20% | |
| JPY | 1.33% | -0.05% | 0.12% | 0.22% | 0.77% | 0.54% | 0.12% | |
| CAD | 1.13% | -0.27% | -0.40% | -0.22% | 0.40% | 0.13% | -0.20% | |
| AUD | 0.74% | -0.73% | -0.85% | -0.77% | -0.40% | -0.32% | -0.64% | |
| NZD | 1.00% | -0.40% | -0.53% | -0.54% | -0.13% | 0.32% | -0.33% | |
| CHF | 1.27% | -0.07% | -0.20% | -0.12% | 0.20% | 0.64% | 0.33% |
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).
United States (US) President Donald Trump's sweeping tax and spending bill passed the Republican-controlled House of Representatives on Thursday by a slim margin. The Senate is expected to start discussions on the bill after the Memorial Day holiday on May 26 and vote on it before July 4. The benchmark 10-year US Treasury bond yield declined more than 1% on Thursday and was last seen edging lower toward 4.5%.
Meanwhile, the USD Index stays in negative territory at around 99.50 after posting small gains on Thursday. The data published by S&P Global showed that the economic activity in the US' private sector expanded at an accelerating pace in May, with Composite Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) rising to 52.1 from 50.6 in April. Finally, US stock index futures trade modestly higher in the European morning.
EUR/USD benefits from the renewed USD weakness and trades comfortably above 1.1300 on Friday.
GBP/USD gathers bullish momentum and trades at its highest level since February 2022 near 1.3500.
USD/JPY stays on the back foot and declines toward 143.00 early Friday. Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba reiterated on Friday that there was no change in Japan's stance on US tariffs and its demand that they be eliminated. Additionally, Reuters reported that Japan's Economy Minister Ryosei Akazawa is planning to visit the US around May 30 for the fourth round of talks.
After correcting lower, Gold regains its traction on Friday. At the time of press, XAU/USD was trading at around $3,330, rising about 1% on the day.
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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