Forex Today: Dollar recovers after selloff, durable goods orders, Fed speculation in focus

Yohay Elam FXStreet

Here is what you need to know on Wednesday, August 25:

Markets have cooled down early on Wednesday after another cheerful day on Tuesday. Investors are content with the progress of an infrastructure spending bill, Durable Goods Orders data for July, and covid headlines. The Fed is set to refrain from tapering hints.

No Tuesday turnaround: Investors remained upbeat on Tuesday, pushing the safe-haven dollar down. Strong demand for an auction of 2-year Treasury notes was seen as a sign that any tapering of the Federal Reserve's bond-buying scheme is unlikely to result in an immediate rate hike.

Tapering: After the Fed announced it would hold its Jackson Hole Symposium online due to the virus' spread, Chair Jerome Powell is expected to refrain from hinting at tapering the bank's $120 billion/month purchase program. Powell speaks on Friday.

US coronavirus: Some market participants are also content with some moderation in the increase of COVID-19 cases. Daily infections have surpassed 150,000, but the spread has slowed and the vaccination pace has picked up. Some 860,000 received a vaccine dose every day, up from roughly 500,000 early in the summer.

The dollar has been recovering early on Wednesday in what seems like profit-taking and positioning ahead of the release of Durable Goods Orders statistics for July. Headline orders are set to drop while core ones are projected to edge higher. Estimates could be too low.

See Durable Goods Orders Preview: The trigger for a greenback comeback?

Infrastructure: The House of Representatives advances the Democrats'-backed $3.5 trillion spending bill, overcoming differences between moderates and liberals in the ruling party. The focus now shifts to the Senate.

EUR//USD is trading below 1.1750, off the highs and ahead of the German IFO Business Climate release. A moderate decrease is on the cards.

GBP/USD is above 1.37 but below the peak as UK covid cases are closely watched.

Gold has slipped below $1,800, paring its gains despite stable 10-year bond yields. It seems that bulls are taking profits.

Cryptocurrencies have stabilized after falling off the highs. Bitcoin is hovering above $48,000 and Ethereum is clinging to $3,200.

See Experts believe Cardano will displace Ethereum as the second-largest crypto as ADA prepares for 400% breakout

Author

Yohay Elam

FXStreet

Yohay is in Forex since 2008 when he founded Forex Crunch, a blog crafted in his free time that turned into a fully-fledged currency website later sold to Finixio.

EUR/USD eases to four-week lows near 1.1650

EUR/USD now loses further momentum and recedes to multi-week lows near 1.1650 on Thursday. The pair’s extra retracement comes on the back of the persistent bid tone in the US Dollar as investors continue to gear up for the release of the December NFP figures on Friday.

GBP/USD: Further weakness could challenge 1.3400

GBP/USD remains under unabated selling pressure on Thursday, slipping to fresh three-day lows around 1.3415 in response to further improvement in the sentiment surrounding the Greenback ahead of Friday’s key NFP data.

Gold bounces back to its comfort zone

Gold now manages to regain some balance, fading its earlier pullback to the proximity of the $4,400 region per troy ounce and reshifting its attention to the $4,450 zone on Thursday. The yellow metal’s move lower comes in response to a better tone in the Greenback and the generalised recovery in US Treasury yields.

Crypto Today: Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP extend decline as ETF outflows pose headwinds

Bitcoin struggles with selling pressure as institutional investor sentiment deteriorates. Ethereum hangs onto the 50-day EMA lifeline amid growing overhead risks and the resumption of ETF outflows.

2026 economic outlook: Clear skies but don’t unfasten your seatbelts yet

Most years fade into the background as soon as a new one starts. Not 2025: a year of epochal shifts, in which the macroeconomy was the dog that did not bark. What to expect in 2026? The shocks of 2025 will not be undone, but neither will they be repeated.

XRP slides as institutional and retail demand falters

Ripple is trading down for the third consecutive day on Thursday amid escalating volatility in the cyrptocurrency market. After peaking at $2.41 on Tuesday, its highest print since November 14 amid the early-year rally, XRP has quickly ran into aggressive profit-taking.