After a temporary respite, the dollar again came under pressure from problems of a very diverse nature. Trump criticized the Federal Reserve again (and in a rather harsh form), the yuan renewed its 11-year high again, and the yield on 10-year Treasuries collapsed to three-year lows. The dollar index is actively losing its position amid such a negative fundamental picture, reflecting the greenback being sold throughout the market.
The euro-dollar pair also follows general trends. After dropping to the 11th figure during the European session, Bulls then more than made up for it, reaching 1.1240. By and large, today EUR/USD traders repeated the price path of Tuesday, however, with one exception: the US currency looks much more vulnerable today, and not only in conjunction with the euro. For example, paired with the yen, the greenback sank to the 105th figure (five-month low), and paired with the franc slumped to the 96th figure (11-month low). In other words, the market is actively getting rid of the dollar and investing in defensive assets - by the way, gold has risen to a 6-year high today, that is, to around 1509.
This dynamics is due to several reasons. First of all, the dollar was a victim of the general nervousness of traders. The unexpected move of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (which suddenly dropped today by 50 bp immediately) unsettled many investors - it became completely clear that the central banks of the leading countries of the world will soften their monetary policy parameters in the foreseeable future, and the Fed is here will not be an exception.
Indeed, today, in addition to the RBNZ, the Central Bank of India has reduced the interest rate (by 35 basis points at once, to the lowest level since 2010) and the central bank of Thailand - the regulator has reduced the rate from 1.75% to 1.50%. The Thai central bank also surprised investors, as most analysts expected the rate to remain unchanged. Such a peculiar "domino effect" provided strong support for defensive instruments and equally strong downward pressure on the greenback. Wall Street reacted appropriately to the situation: the main indexes plummeted significantly when trading began. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by more than 2%, the S&P 500 by almost 2%, while the Nasdaq Composite by 1.6%.
The fundamental background for the dollar is too sharply painted in gloomy tones. Let me remind you that after the July meeting of the Fed (which took place just a week ago), the US currency went up sharply in almost all dollar pairs. Investors were confident that the Fed would limit itself to a "warning shot" in the form of one 25-point rate cut. By and large, Fed members, like Jerome Powell, indirectly confirmed this market assumption, although they did not exclude an alternative scenario. But a week ago, the likelihood of implementing this "alternative" scenario was minimal. However, further events unfolded with such swiftness that in just a few days dollar bulls lost ground.
Trump's resonant statement about 300 billion duties, China's response (refusal to purchase American agricultural products), devaluation of the renminbi, a 50-point reduction in the RBNZ rate and easing of the monetary policy of the central bank of India and Thailand are all links in one chain. With a high degree of probability, the Fed will also not be left out in the end, resorting to another round of rate cuts this year. The only question is - 25 or 50 basis points. It is noteworthy that yesterday James Bullard, one of the most prominent representatives of the "dovish" wing of the Fed, said that the regulator should not reflexively react to the actions of the US and China, which operate on the basis of the "tooth by tooth" principle. He noted that interest rates are now at an optimal level, and before deciding on further steps, the Federal Reserve needs to analyze the reaction of the US economy to a trade war.
But Donald Trump is still vomiting and mosquing, accusing the Federal Reserve of almost tampering. He said that Fed members still cannot admit their mistake, which was that the regulator began to "tighten monetary policy too soon and too quickly." In his opinion, the Federal Reserve should now actively reduce the interest rate, thereby increasing US competitiveness. "The problem is not even in China, but in our central bank," the president concluded.
On the one hand, Jerome Powell has repeatedly stated that such attacks from Trump does not affect the Fed's position. On the other hand, the market again started talking about the fact that the regulator could reduce the interest rate by 50 points in the fall (or resort to a double reduction of 25 bp by the end of the year) - even without taking into account the political pressure of the White House. This fact has a significant impact on the greenback, helping EUR/USD bulls to storm the nearest resistance level of 1.1260 (the lower border of the Kumo cloud on the daily chart).
But it is worth noting here that EUR/USD bulls still can't confirm their dominance - for this they need to gain a foothold over the above resistance level, and for fidelity - to overcome the upper border of the cloud, which corresponds to the level of 1.1302. Until then, the price will fluctuate in the range of 1,1140-1,1260 in anticipation of a powerful information driver that will help traders take the pair outside one of the corridor boundaries.
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company - www.instaforex.com