Dollar

So far, we have only seen the euro show any signs of strength apart from those where interest rates are lower – JPY, CHF and CNH. The broader US dollar forecast should turn more negative once the equity markets shown signs of stabilisation light of the sharp repricing of US interest rates.

There is one more macro even left that could provide even more volatility in the markets, namely the ISM services PMI on Monday. I reckon once the equity market volatility settles, the recent weakness in US data should translate into a more widespread dollar weakness. So, I maintain a bearish dollar forecast for the week ahead, especially now that we have seen a weaker jobs report today.

The US 2-year bond yield remains support, which is capping the yield at 5% and weighed on the US dollar. And that helped AUD/USD rise for a second day ahead of a key AU CPI report.

The US dollar has risen around 6% from the late December low. And with bond prices approaching support which could send yields lower, the US dollar rally could at least find some headwinds - if not a retracement.

Dollar Index was testing a key support level as focus turns to PPI inflation after a hot CPI earlier this week. US dollar was hurt by weak retail sales on Thursday, but rising import costs is inflationary. The week ahead features global PMIs among a handful of other macro data releases.

Dollar weakness is lacking fundamental justification, with the Dollar Index looking to bounce back as it tests key support, while EUR/USD is back to probe broken support at 1.0780, which could turn into resistance.

NFP trounces expectations at +353K vs. +185K expected. USD/JPY and bond yields jump, gold drops .Light macro events in week ahead.

Thanks to the positive risk tone across financial markets, the US dollar has struggled to hold onto its gains made in response to mostly positive data showing a resilient economy. Yet, it hasn’t sold off either, with many traders expecting the FOMC and its Chairman Jerome Powell to push back against early rate cut bets next week. For this exact reason, gold has been unable to find any lasting support, with traders happy to take quick profits in either direction.

The resilience of US data we have seen over the past couple of weeks hasn’t led to any further appreciation in interest rate expectations, keeping the dollar in an overall holding pattern with a slight bullish tilt, especially against the weaker currencies like the JPY and EUR. But the likes of the AUD and previously CHF have shown some resilience, perhaps suggesting that most of the positivity may be priced in for the greenback.

Welcome to another edition of Forex Friday, a weekly report in which we highlight selected currency themes. In this week’s report, we will focus on the US dollar analysis, and provide updates on the GBP/USD, USD/CAD and EUR/USD outlook, before looking ahead to the next week. We maintain a bearish outlook on the US dollar and would favour looking for bullish setups on high-beta currencies.

It was a feast and then famine week for USD bulls as the Dollar continued it’s advance in the early part of the week, only to give back the bulk of those gains on Friday after the release of Non-farm Payrolls.

So, the US jobs data was mixed and the probability of a rate hike in September fell to 13% from about 20% prior to the data release. Correspondingly, the US dollar and bond yields fell, gold rallied, and stocks stabilised somewhat.

All eyes will turn to the US jobs report on Friday, as the market refocuses on Fed policy after the Fitch downgrade of US credit rating caused a risk off response in the markets, which sent the dollar and long-dated bond yields surging higher. The US dollar, gold and EUR/USD outlook could be impacted if we see a jobs report that deviates significantly from expectations.

While it is down now, the US dollar outlook is subject to change depending on the outlook of the data.

Welcome to another edition of Forex Friday, a weekly report in which we discuss selected currency themes mainly from a macro viewpoint, but we also throw in a pinch of technical analysis here and there. In this week’s shortened report, we will discuss the USD/CAD pair outlook, and look forward to next week’s key events affecting this pair.

Unlike equities, the FX markets are not so cheerful about US debt ceiling talks, with the greenback continuing to rise against risk-sensitive currencies like the AUD, GBP and EUR. But will the US dollar forecast turn more bearish moving forward?

We will have more US data in the form of retail sales and consumer confidence on Friday to impact the dollar forecast.