Here is what you need to know on Monday, January 20:
The US Dollar (USD) stays on the back foot to start the week as investors gear up for Donald Trump's second inauguration. Meanwhile, stock and bond markets in the US will be closed in observance of the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday on Monday.
US Dollar PRICE Today
The table below shows the percentage change of US Dollar (USD) against listed major currencies today. US Dollar was the weakest against the British Pound.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | -0.37% | -0.38% | 0.00% | -0.16% | -0.35% | -0.30% | -0.02% | |
| EUR | 0.37% | -0.07% | 0.26% | 0.11% | 0.08% | -0.04% | 0.24% | |
| GBP | 0.38% | 0.07% | 0.29% | 0.16% | 0.17% | 0.02% | 0.29% | |
| JPY | 0.00% | -0.26% | -0.29% | -0.15% | -0.29% | -0.40% | -0.20% | |
| CAD | 0.16% | -0.11% | -0.16% | 0.15% | -0.12% | -0.15% | 0.12% | |
| AUD | 0.35% | -0.08% | -0.17% | 0.29% | 0.12% | -0.22% | 0.10% | |
| NZD | 0.30% | 0.04% | -0.02% | 0.40% | 0.15% | 0.22% | 0.08% | |
| CHF | 0.02% | -0.24% | -0.29% | 0.20% | -0.12% | -0.10% | -0.08% |
The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the US Dollar from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the Japanese Yen, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent USD (base)/JPY (quote).
After closing in positive territory on Friday, the USD Index turns south in the European morning on Monday and trades in negative territory at around 109.00. Trump is expected to announce severe restrictions on immigration on his first day in office. More importantly, investors will pay close attention to any comments on his tariff policy and its potential impact on markets and the inflation outlook.
During the Asian trading hours, the People’s Bank of China (PBoC), China's central bank, announced that it left the one-year and five-year Loan Prime Rates unchanged at 3.10% and 3.60%, respectively. This decision came in line with the market expectation.
EUR/USD closed the previous week marginally higher. Supported by the broad-based USD weakness, the pair trades in positive territory above 1.0300 to begin the European session. Later in the session, Eurostat will publish Construction Output data for November.
After suffering large losses to begin the year, GBP/USD failed to gather recovery momentum and closed in the red for the third consecutive week. The pair gains traction early Monday and trades above 1.2200.
USD/JPY registered strong gains on Friday but still lost nearly 1% for the week. The pair stays in a consolidation phase slightly above 156.00 in the European morning.
Despite a bearish start to the previous week, Gold extended its rebound and posted modest gains. XAU/USD stays relatively quiet on Monday but manages to hold comfortably above $2,700.
US Dollar FAQs
The US Dollar (USD) is the official currency of the United States of America, and the ‘de facto’ currency of a significant number of other countries where it is found in circulation alongside local notes. It is the most heavily traded currency in the world, accounting for over 88% of all global foreign exchange turnover, or an average of $6.6 trillion in transactions per day, according to data from 2022. Following the second world war, the USD took over from the British Pound as the world’s reserve currency. For most of its history, the US Dollar was backed by Gold, until the Bretton Woods Agreement in 1971 when the Gold Standard went away.
The most important single factor impacting on the value of the US Dollar is monetary policy, which is shaped by the Federal Reserve (Fed). The Fed has two mandates: to achieve price stability (control inflation) and foster full employment. Its primary tool to achieve these two goals is by adjusting interest rates. When prices are rising too quickly and inflation is above the Fed’s 2% target, the Fed will raise rates, which helps the USD value. When inflation falls below 2% or the Unemployment Rate is too high, the Fed may lower interest rates, which weighs on the Greenback.
In extreme situations, the Federal Reserve can also print more Dollars and enact quantitative easing (QE). QE is the process by which the Fed substantially increases the flow of credit in a stuck financial system. It is a non-standard policy measure used when credit has dried up because banks will not lend to each other (out of the fear of counterparty default). It is a last resort when simply lowering interest rates is unlikely to achieve the necessary result. It was the Fed’s weapon of choice to combat the credit crunch that occurred during the Great Financial Crisis in 2008. It involves the Fed printing more Dollars and using them to buy US government bonds predominantly from financial institutions. QE usually leads to a weaker US Dollar.
Quantitative tightening (QT) is the reverse process whereby the Federal Reserve stops buying bonds from financial institutions and does not reinvest the principal from the bonds it holds maturing in new purchases. It is usually positive for the US Dollar.
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