US dollar index erases gains after Fed’s minutes

Matías Salord FXStreet

The US dollar fell across the board after the release of the FOMC minutes from the latest meeting, when the Fed, as expected, kept interest rates unchanged. The central bank left the doors open to a rate hike but market odds of a March rate hike fell modestly.

FOMC Minutes: Policymakers thought a rate hike "might be"appropriate "fairly soon"

The US Dollar index, which gauges the US dollar against its main competitors, was hovering around 101.50 before the minutes, and then tumbled to 101.15 hitting a fresh daily low. The index remains at the lows, far from the 101.70 level (6-day high) it reached earlier.

The greenback weakened amid a recovery in US bonds. The 10-year yield fell from 2.45% to 2.41%. Equity prices in Wall Street suffer no relevant impact from the minutes. The Dow Jones was up marginally 0.08% while the S&P 500 was falling 0.16%.

DXY levels

To the downside, support levels might lie at 101.15 (daily low), 101.00 (Feb high) and 100.75 (Feb 20 low). On the upside, resistance could now be seen at 101.40 (Feb 14 high / 20-hour moving average) and 101.70/75 (Feb 15 & 22 high).

Author

Matías Salord

FXStreet

Matías started in financial markets in 2008, after graduating in Economics. He was trained in chart analysis and then became an educator. He also studied Journalism. He started writing analyses for specialized websites before joining FXStreet.

EUR/USD stays well offered below 1.1800

The selling pressure on EUR/USD is picking up pace, with the pair slipping decisively below the key 1.1800 level and sliding to fresh two week lows as Wednesday’s session draws to a close. The move lower comes as the US Dollar finds renewed strength after the latest round of US data and the release of the FOMC Minutes. Next of note on the docket will be the US weekly Initial Jobless Claims.

GBP/USD reaches multi-day lows near 1.3500

GBP/USD reverses its initial upside momentum and is now adding to previous declines, approaching the 1.3500 region on Wednesday. Cable’s downtick comes on the back of decent gains in the Greenback and easing UK inflation figures, which seem to have reinforced the case for a BoE rate cut in March.

Gold battle to regain $5,000 continues

Gold is back on the front foot on Wednesday, shaking off part of the early week softness and challenging two-day highs near the $5,000 mark per troy ounce. The move comes ahead of the FOMC Minutes and is unfolding despite an intense rebound in the US Dollar.

Bitcoin has found or is near a bottom, extended consolidation to follow: K33

Bitcoin (BTC) is nearing or has already established a bottom, which could be followed by a sustained period of slow price movement, according to K33.

Mixed UK inflation data no gamechanger for the Bank of England

Food inflation plunged in January, but service sector price pressure is proving stickier. We continue to expect Bank of England rate cuts in March and June. The latest UK inflation read is a mixed bag for the Bank of England, but we doubt it drastically changes the odds of a March rate cut.

Sui extends sideways action ahead of Grayscale’s GSUI ETF launch

Sui is extending its downtrend for the second consecutive day, trading at 0.95 at the time of writing on Wednesday. The Layer-1 token is down over 16% in February and approximately 34% from the start of the year, aligning with the overall bearish sentiment across the crypto market.