Dollar Steady on Monday as Investors Monitor US Fed’s Line of Action

Following a brutal drop last week, the US dollar (USD) maintained its steady course on Monday as Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller stated that the central bank was continuing to fight inflation.

The dollar index fell 3.6% over two sessions last week, its worst two-day percentage fall since March 2009, as a result of somewhat lower-than-expected inflation data on Thursday.

Global equities also recorded a bounce as investors flocked to risky assets in the anticipation that the Fed would scale back its rate increases as inflation peaks. However, Fed Governor Waller stated on Sunday that the inflation number from last week was “just one data point” and that additional readings of a similar nature were required to demonstrate persuasively that inflation was dropping.

However, Waller added that the Fed might now begin considering hiking at a slower rate.

Carol Kong, a currency analyst at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, said, “I think the market got a little ahead of itself.” She added that Fed officials will probably give the market a reality check, which will help the dollar recover some of its recent losses.

According to Kong, US inflation would probably continue to be high and force the Fed to continue tightening monetary policy. According to a study released on November 11, the consumer mood in the United States declined in November as a result of ongoing concerns about inflation and rising borrowing rates.

Dollar Regain Footing Against Counterparts on Monday

The US two-year yield, which measures expectations for rate movement, increased to 4.41% after plummeting as low as 4.29% on Friday.

In other news, after increasing 5.4% last week against the dollar, the Japanese yen (JPY) dropped 0.24% to 139.12 per dollar. At press time, however, the USD/JPY pair trades at 140.30, or +1.12%. The EUR/USD pair traded lower by 0.30% at 1.0320 in the mid-London session on Monday.

The dollar index (DXY) currently trades up 0.45% at 106.90.