US Dollar gains as Fed officials challenge the dovish narrative
- In a quiet week, Fed’s hawks are keeping the US Dollar afloat.
- Fed officials ask for patience to let monetary policy do its job.
- US Treasury bond yields recover somewhat on Wednesday.
The US Dollar Index (DXY) is currently trading with mild gains at 105.45. This gain can be partially attributed to the cautious remarks of members of the Federal Reserve (Fed), who highlighted that rates will be kept high as long as they need to be to bring down inflation. Other than that, there won’t be any relevant highlight from the US economy until next week when the US will release Consumer Price Index (CPI) data from April.
The US economy faces uncertainty with Fed Chair Jerome Powell acknowledging inflation persists uncomfortably high despite easing significantly in the past year. The Fed’s stance has turned hawkish as the latest weak Nonfarm Payrolls report seems to have not convinced the bank that the job is done yet. However, if data continues coming in soft, the cuts will eventually come.
Daily digest market movers: DXY holds its ground on hawkish Fed bets, higher US Treasury yields
- Hawkish sentiments are emerging inside the Fed, casting doubt over the neutral rate level and pointing out potential prompts to adjust interest rates if needed, such as a resilient housing market and ascending inflation.
- Projections suggest a budding shift, indicating that the persistent strength of the US economy might elevate the median neutral rate in the future.
- Markets predict only a 10% probability of a rate cut at June’s meeting. These probabilities reduce slightly over time with a projected 30% probability for a cut in July (down from 40%) and an 80% chance for September (down from 90%). A rate cut in November, however, remains fully priced in.
- US Treasury bond yields depict a scattered picture but are higher overall. The 2-year yield trades at 4.82%, mildly down while the yields for both 5-year and 10-year bonds, residing at 4.48% and 4.47%, respectively, show a slight upward inclination.
DXY technical analysis: DXY struggles amid reduced buying momentum, swing inclined toward sellers in the short term
The indicators on the daily chart reflect a rather unsettled scenario for the Dollar Index. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) is lying flat in positive territory, indicating a lack of clear momentum in either direction. Moreover, the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) exhibits flat red bars, which shows that sellers remain steady.
In addition, the presence of the DXY beneath the 20-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) suggests that bears have managed some control, with the currency struggling to regain ground. Despite the sellers’ efforts, the Index remains above the 100 and 200-day Simple Moving Averages (SMAs), implying that bulls maintain dominance in the overall trend.
Central banks FAQs
Central Banks have a key mandate which is making sure that there is price stability in a country or region. Economies are constantly facing inflation or deflation when prices for certain goods and services are fluctuating. Constant rising prices for the same goods means inflation, constant lowered prices for the same goods means deflation. It is the task of the central bank to keep the demand in line by tweaking its policy rate. For the biggest central banks like the US Federal Reserve (Fed), the European Central Bank (ECB) or the Bank of England (BoE), the mandate is to keep inflation close to 2%.
A central bank has one important tool at its disposal to get inflation higher or lower, and that is by tweaking its benchmark policy rate, commonly known as interest rate. On pre-communicated moments, the central bank will issue a statement with its policy rate and provide additional reasoning on why it is either remaining or changing (cutting or hiking) it. Local banks will adjust their savings and lending rates accordingly, which in turn will make it either harder or easier for people to earn on their savings or for companies to take out loans and make investments in their businesses. When the central bank hikes interest rates substantially, this is called monetary tightening. When it is cutting its benchmark rate, it is called monetary easing.
A central bank is often politically independent. Members of the central bank policy board are passing through a series of panels and hearings before being appointed to a policy board seat. Each member in that board often has a certain conviction on how the central bank should control inflation and the subsequent monetary policy. Members that want a very loose monetary policy, with low rates and cheap lending, to boost the economy substantially while being content to see inflation slightly above 2%, are called ‘doves’. Members that rather want to see higher rates to reward savings and want to keep a lit on inflation at all time are called ‘hawks’ and will not rest until inflation is at or just below 2%.
Normally, there is a chairman or president who leads each meeting, needs to create a consensus between the hawks or doves and has his or her final say when it would come down to a vote split to avoid a 50-50 tie on whether the current policy should be adjusted. The chairman will deliver speeches which often can be followed live, where the current monetary stance and outlook is being communicated. A central bank will try to push forward its monetary policy without triggering violent swings in rates, equities, or its currency. All members of the central bank will channel their stance toward the markets in advance of a policy meeting event. A few days before a policy meeting takes place until the new policy has been communicated, members are forbidden to talk publicly. This is called the blackout period.