US Dollar Index turns upside down to near 99.15 on hopes of Hormuz stability
- The US Dollar Index falls back after posting a fresh over five-week high near $99.40
- Iranian and Omanian technical teams met last week to negotiate a mechanism for safe transit through Hormuz.
- Investors expect the Fed to deliver at least one interest rate hike this year.
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the Greenback’s value against six major currencies, gives back its early gains and turns negative to near 99.15 during the European trading session on Monday. In the Asian session, the USD Index rose to near 99.45, the highest level seen in over five weeks.
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 British Pound.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | -0.07% | -0.22% | 0.08% | -0.03% | -0.04% | -0.22% | -0.20% | |
| EUR | 0.07% | -0.17% | 0.15% | 0.02% | 0.01% | -0.15% | -0.15% | |
| GBP | 0.22% | 0.17% | 0.32% | 0.19% | 0.19% | 0.00% | 0.03% | |
| JPY | -0.08% | -0.15% | -0.32% | -0.15% | -0.14% | -0.34% | -0.31% | |
| CAD | 0.03% | -0.02% | -0.19% | 0.15% | 0.00% | -0.18% | -0.16% | |
| AUD | 0.04% | -0.01% | -0.19% | 0.14% | -0.00% | -0.17% | -0.13% | |
| NZD | 0.22% | 0.15% | -0.01% | 0.34% | 0.18% | 0.17% | 0.03% | |
| CHF | 0.20% | 0.15% | -0.03% | 0.31% | 0.16% | 0.13% | -0.03% |
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).
The US Dollar (USD) faces selling pressure after reports that Iranian and Omanian technical teams met last week in Oman to negotiate a mechanism for safe transit in the Strait of Hormuz, a scenario that would smooth the energy transport and ease the oil price.
Higher oil prices due to restricted shipping transit through Hormuz have kept the US Dollar in a favorable position, prompting inflationary pressures globally and forcing traders to price out the possibility of interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve (Fed) this year.
The US Consumer Price Index (CPI) data for April showed last week that the headline inflation accelerated to 3.8% Year-on-Year (YoY), the highest level seen in almost three years.
According to the CME FedWatch tool, the odds of the Fed delivering at least one interest rate hike this year is 54.5% while the rest favors the central bank maintaining a status quo. This is a significant turnaround from two interest rate cuts anticipated during peacetime.
For more cues on the Fed’s monetary policy outlook, investors will focus on the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) minutes of the April policy meeting, which will be released on Wednesday.
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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