U.S. Dollar Remains Pressured Ahead of FOMC Meeting, Trades Near 8-Month Low

The United States Dollar on Tuesday extended its decline against global counterparts as the uncertainty surrounding corporate earnings amid recession concerns dragged on currency outlook.

The U.S. Dollar Index, the gauge which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of currencies, stood at 101.53, near an eight-month low of 101.51 hit on Monday.

Against the Sterling, the U.S. Dollar lost 0.12% to $1.2415 while the Euro gained 0.05% to $1.0920, nearing its 9-month high of $1.0927 attained on Monday.

“The euro does draw a lot of attention,” said Jarrod Kerr, chief economist at Kiwibank. The eurozone “had a favorable winter ….The energy crisis that people were expecting hasn’t quite played out yet.”

Meanwhile, the Canadian dollar was last exchanged at 1.3393 per dollar following the decision of the Bank of Canada to increase the interest rate to 4.5%.

Accordingly, the U.S. dollar lost 0.06% against the Australian dollar on Thursday morning after a 0.8% gain on Wednesday after the consumer price index report showed Australian inflation rose to a 33-year high in the fourth quarter of 2022.

A check by Investors King showed that against the New Zealand dollar, the U.S. dollar was steady at $0.6480. In Asia, the Japanese yen appreciated by 0.3% to 129.21 per dollar.

The currency traders have started pricing in a 25-basis point interest rate increase for next week when the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) will converge in a two-day meeting to decide the interest rate.

“There are now signs the U.S. economy may be slowing in a more meaningful manner,” said economists at Wells Fargo.

“With the Fed no longer leading the charge on interest rate hikes and U.S. economic trends set to worsen, we now believe the U.S. dollar has entered a period of cyclical depreciation against most foreign currencies.”