Dollar Stays Intact After Falling on Concerns of Delta Variant Risk

Dollar: Concerns about the rapid rise of Delta variant and the return of lockdowns, as well as the Fed’s tapering and China’s downturn, weighed heavily on market mood last week. A Fed hawk’s softening tone on tapering offered optimism a late boost, but it was unclear whether it would last. The top currency was the dollar, which was followed by the Swiss Franc and the yen. However, the three winners were all quite close, with most pairs only a few points apart.

The emergence of the coronavirus Delta strain and its potential repercussions on the economic recovery were the key topics, as were US politicians speeding up tapering negotiations. By the end of this week, the Jackson Hole Symposium will take place, and market investors are looking forward to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s remarks on the topic.

US equities have shown significant resilience in the past week as the major indices bounced back significantly after the initial sell-off. On the one hand, the proliferation of the Delta variant has raised concerns that the economic impact will last longer. However, sentiment improved slightly as the well-known Fed hawk indicated that he could change his mind about the timing of the cut.

Dallas Fed President Rob Kaplan made it clear that he would prefer to announce the plan in September and then begin cutting it in October. But on Friday he said he was “watching very closely” how Delta would affect the economy and was prepared to “adjust” his views on politics somewhat. It doesn’t get even more unlikely that Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will point out anything specific about the cut at this week’s Jackson Hole symposium. Indeed, we may hear that the Fed hawks will be wary if the situation gets worse.

U.S Dollar Made Progress Against Aussie and CAD

Concerns about a drop in China’s demand continued to drive down iron ore prices last week. The decrease was attributed to continuing pandemic limitations, as well as weaker property and infrastructure circumstances, which resulted in lower steel output cuts in the second half. The China Iron and Steel Association has also advocated limiting steel exports and reducing lower-grade product shipments.

The Australian dollar is the weakest, having finished at roughly 0.7130 against the US dollar, just above a new 2021 low of 0.7105. The common currency was also among the worst, with a low of 1.1663 and a high of 1.1700 at the end of the week. The GBP/USD pair is trading at its July low of 1.3571, while the USD/JPY pair is stuck at 110.00.

After peaking at 1.2948, the USD/CAD pair fell rapidly, closing the day at approximately 1.2820. Oil prices have been a factor in the pair’s performance, with WTI closing the day at $61.80 a barrel, down about 7% on the week. The commodity’s value was harmed by the prospect of slowing demand.