Forex Today: Dollar down but not yet defeated

Valeria Bednarik FXStreet

What you need to take care of on Friday, June 3:

The greenback changed course on Thursday and gave up all of its Wednesday gains and more. Easing government bond yields and tepid US employment-related figures put pressure on the American currency, later weighed by the positive tone of Wall Street.

Concerns related to economic growth and inflation remain the same, moreover after the EU Producer Price Index hit 37.2% in April, above the market’s expectations. Government bonds were up, with yields giving up some of their recent gains.

US indexes edged higher, even despite comments from Federal Reserve Vice-Chair Lael Brainard said that the central bank would hardly pause its current rate-hiking cycle amid record inflation levels. Cleveland Loretta Mester said that inflation has not yet peaked and that it’s too early to discuss a potential pause in the tightening path.

The EUR/USD pair trades near 1.0750, and not far from its weekly high at 1.0786. The GBP/USD pair is also up, trading at around 1.2560. Commodity-linked currencies soared. The AUD/USD pair is now hovering at around 0.7250, while USD/CAD trades at around 1.2570.

Gold soared, trading at its highest in near a month. It is currently changing hands at around $1,870 a troy ounce. Crude oil prices were also up, with WTI trading at $117.10 a barrel. The OPEC+ announce it would increase production by 648,000 barrels per day in July and August amid disruptions caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The focus is now on the US Nonfarm Payrolls report.

Like this article? Help us with some feedback by answering this survey:

Author

Valeria Bednarik

FXStreet

Valeria Bednarik was born and lives in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Her passion for math and numbers pushed her into studying economics in her younger years.

AUD/USD hangs close to monthly lows, still defends 0.7100 ahead of Fed decision

AUD/USD retains its negative bias for the third straight day, defending 0.7100 while trading close to a monthly low in Wednesday's Asian session on Wednesday. The US Dollar stands firm near a two-week high as the anticipated Fed rate hike and oil-driven inflation fears continue to push US bond yields to a multi-year high. Furthermore, escalating Middle East tensions benefit the safe-haven buck and weigh on the risk-sensitive Aussie.

USD/JPY holds firm above 155.00, awaits Fed policy announcements

USD/JPY climbs to a fresh one-week high above 155.00 in the Asian session on Wednesday amid a bullish US Dollar. Oil-driven inflation fears, along with the anticipated Fed rate hike, continue to support surging US bond yields. Moreover, rising US-Iran tensions underpin the USD's reserve currency status. The pair, however, remains below the mid-155.00s as bulls seem hesitant ahead of the Fed decision later today and the BoJ meeting, starting on Thursday.

Gold traders seem noncommittal below $4,350; eyes Fed rate decision

Gold clings to modest intraday gains through the first half of the European session, albeit it lacks follow-through buying and remains below $4,350. The US Dollar eases from a two-week high amid some profit-taking, offering support to the commodity. Traders, however, seem hesitant to place aggressive directional bets and opt to wait on the sidelines heading into the key central bank event risk.

Cardano's bearish breakout warns of a 15% downside risk

Cardano (ADA) hovers around $0.1900 at press time on Wednesday after a 6% decline the previous day, breaking below a crucial support level. Declining on-chain activity across the Cardano ecosystem, with reduced transaction count and Real Economic Value (REV), suggests waning user demand.

Fed decision in focus

Starting with the most important, the Fed decision. Heading into the event, data showed a rather punchy US August jobs report, which, you will likely recall, triggered a hawkish Fed rate repricing in rates markets. However, the recent US August CPI print mattered more.

How Japan became the World's Banker and why that era may be ending

Japan's ultra-low interest rates helped finance trillions of dollars in global investments for more than a decade, making the Japanese Yen one of the world’s cheapest sources of funding. With the Bank of Japan expected to tighten policy again this week, that advantage may be entering a new phase. While most major economies raised interest rates, Japan remained the world's outlier.