Forex Today: US Dollar stabilizes as focus shifts to data releases before Thanksgiving holiday
Here is what you need to know on Wednesday, November 22:
Following Monday's sharp decline, the US Dollar (USD) Index managed to post small daily gains on Tuesday. Early Wednesday, the USD holds resilient against its rivals. Ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, the US economic docket will feature Durable Goods Orders data for October alongside the US Department of Labor's weekly Initial Jobless Claims. Later in the American session, the European Commission will publish the preliminary Consumer Confidence Index data for November.
In the minutes of the October 31-November 1 policy meeting, the Federal Reserve (Fed) reiterated the data dependent approach and policymakers' willingness to proceed carefully. The document, however, showed that participants noted further policy tightening would be appropriate if progress to the inflation target was insufficient. The benchmark 10-year US Treasury bond yield stabilized at around 4.4% following the publication and Wall Street's main indexes closed the day with moderate losses.
US Dollar price this week
The table below shows the percentage change of US Dollar (USD) against listed major currencies this week. US Dollar was the weakest against the Japanese Yen.
| USD | EUR | GBP | CAD | AUD | JPY | NZD | CHF | |
| USD | -0.08% | -0.62% | -0.10% | -0.45% | -0.72% | -0.66% | -0.31% | |
| EUR | 0.08% | -0.54% | 0.01% | -0.35% | -0.61% | -0.56% | -0.20% | |
| GBP | 0.62% | 0.55% | 0.53% | 0.18% | -0.08% | -0.02% | 0.32% | |
| CAD | 0.08% | -0.01% | -0.55% | -0.37% | -0.63% | -0.57% | -0.21% | |
| AUD | 0.44% | 0.37% | -0.17% | 0.35% | -0.27% | -0.21% | 0.13% | |
| JPY | 0.71% | 0.61% | -0.13% | 0.63% | 0.26% | 0.07% | 0.39% | |
| NZD | 0.65% | 0.57% | 0.04% | 0.56% | 0.21% | -0.06% | 0.34% | |
| CHF | 0.29% | 0.20% | -0.33% | 0.21% | -0.16% | -0.39% | -0.36% |
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 Euro from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the Japanese Yen, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent EUR (base)/JPY (quote).
Early Wednesday, Reuters reported that Chinese government advisers will recommend an economic growth target for next year ranging from 4.5% to 5%. "Monetary stimulus is expected to play a more limited role as the central bank remains concerned about a widening interest rate differential with the West," the report further read.
EUR/USD closed in negative territory on Tuesday but managed to hold above 1.0900. European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde said on Tuesday that it's not the time to start declaring victory against inflation.
GBP/USD registered gains for the third consecutive trading day and touched its highest level since early September above 1.2550 on Tuesday. The pair consolidates its gains below that level early Wednesday. During the European trading hours, British Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt will deliver the Autumn Budget statement.
In the latest assessment, Japan's Cabinet Office said that it cut the view on the overall economy for November, citing the negative impact of weak demand on capital spending and consumer expenditure. USD/JPY fell toward 147.00 and touched its lowest level in over two months before staging a rebound. At the time of press, the pair was trading in positive territory at around 149.00.
Gold rally continued in the second half of the day on Tuesday and XAU/USD climbed above $2,000 for the first time since early November. As of writing, the pair was trading modestly higher on the day at $2,005.
Author
Eren Sengezer
FXStreet
As an economist at heart, Eren Sengezer specializes in the assessment of the short-term and long-term impacts of macroeconomic data, central bank policies and political developments on financial assets.
