US economic activity is a USD headwind – BBH

FXStreet Insights Team FXStreet

The US Dollar (USD) is firmer across the board and the US yield curve (10 minus 2-year Treasury yields) steepened, BBH strategists note.

USD remains bullish in short term

“The narrative is financial markets are positioning for a Trump win ahead of the November 5 election. Donald Trump plans to slash taxes and raise import tariffs if elected. This combination is inflationary and could force the Federal Reserve (Fed) to keep policy restrictive for longer.”

“A loose fiscal/tight monetary policy mix is generally positive for a currency and supports higher bond yields. Additionally, expansionary fiscal policy if not accompanied by stronger growth could worsen the US fiscal backdrop and raise the term premium on longer term Treasury yields.”

“We remain cyclically bullish on USD, but in the near-term softer US economic activity is a USD headwind.”

Author

FXStreet Insights Team

FXStreet

The FXStreet Insights Team is a group of journalists that handpicks selected market observations published by renowned experts. The content includes notes by commercial as well as additional insights by internal and external analysts.

EUR/USD weakens below 1.1900, USD remains firm

EUR/USD has slipped back into its downtrend, drifting below the 1.1900 support as the US Dollar’s recovery keeps gathering traction. Indeed, the Greenback’s push higher gathered pace after President Trump named Kevin Warsh as Jerome Powell’s successor and US Producer Prices rose more than expected in December.

GBP/USD retreats further, threatens 1.3700

Selling pressure remains on the rise, dragging GBP/USD back towards three-day lows around 1.3720-1.3710 at the end of the week. Cable’s retracement reflects a firmer rebound in the Greenback as investors digest Trump’s announcement of the next Fed chair.

Gold remains offered just above $5,000

Gold is extending its pullback, managing to trim part of its strong losses and regain the $5,000 mark and beyond on Friday. The precious metal’s severe drop comes amid broad-based profit-taking across the commodity space, alongside a firmer US Dollar and mixed US Treasury yields.

Stellar deepens correction, slipping to 3-month low as risk-off mood persists

Stellar continues to trade in the red, slipping below $0.20 on Friday, a level not seen since mid-October. Bearish sentiment intensifies amid falling Open Interest and negative funding rates in the derivatives market. On the technical side, weakening momentum indicators support further correction in XLM.

Microsoft sell-off etches $400 billion hole in market, second highest on record

Microsoft's (MSFT) post-earnings cratering on Thursday sent other indices into pullback mode despite the narrow nature of its weakness.

Top 3 Price Prediction: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple deepen sell-off as bears take control of momentum

Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Ripple continued their corrections on Friday, posting weekly losses of nearly 6%, 3%, and 5%, respectively. BTC is nearing the November lows at $80,000, while ETH slips below $2,800 amid increasing downside pressure.