US Dollar Index hangs near four-year low, around 96.00 on Fed concerns and economic risks
- The USD struggles to capitalize on the previous day’s modest bounce from a four-year trough.
- Concerns about the Fed’s independence and economic uncertainties undermine the Greenback.
- Traders now look to the US Jobless Claims for short-term opportunities amid bearish fundamentals.
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the Greenback against a basket of currencies, meets with a fresh supply during the Asian session on Thursday and erodes a part of the previous day's modest recovery gains. Currently placed around the 96.00 mark, the index remains within striking distance of the lowest level since February 2022, set on Tuesday, and seems vulnerable to prolonging a nearly two-week-old downtrend.
The US Federal Reserve, as was widely expected, decided to leave policy rates unchanged on Wednesday, with two Governors – Stephen Miran and Christopher Waller – dissenting in favor of a 25-basis-point (bps) reduction. In the post-meeting press conference, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said that inflation was still well above the 2% target. The hawkish remarks, however, do little to impress the US Dollar (USD) bulls amid a combination of negative factors.
Traders seem convinced that the Fed will maintain the status quo through the end of this quarter and possibly until Chair Jerome Powell's tenure ends in May, though they are still pricing in two more rate cuts in 2026. Moreover, a criminal investigation of Powell and an evolving effort to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook put the focus on threats to the Fed's independence. This, in turn, has been a key factor behind sustained selling bias surrounding the USD.
Furthermore, economic and policy risks linked to US President Donald Trump's decisions, along with the broader de-dollarization trend, validate the near-term negative outlook for the USD. Traders now look forward to the release of the US Weekly Initial Jobless Claims for some impetus later during the North American session. Nevertheless, the broader fundamental backdrop favors the USD bears and backs the case for a further near-term depreciation.
US Dollar Price Today
The table below shows the percentage change of US Dollar (USD) against listed major currencies today. US Dollar was the strongest against the Japanese Yen.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | -0.34% | -0.27% | -0.23% | -0.26% | -0.86% | -0.62% | -0.49% | |
| EUR | 0.34% | 0.07% | 0.09% | 0.06% | -0.52% | -0.28% | -0.14% | |
| GBP | 0.27% | -0.07% | 0.02% | 0.00% | -0.61% | -0.37% | -0.21% | |
| JPY | 0.23% | -0.09% | -0.02% | -0.03% | -0.62% | -0.41% | -0.24% | |
| CAD | 0.26% | -0.06% | -0.01% | 0.03% | -0.59% | -0.37% | -0.22% | |
| AUD | 0.86% | 0.52% | 0.61% | 0.62% | 0.59% | 0.24% | 0.38% | |
| NZD | 0.62% | 0.28% | 0.37% | 0.41% | 0.37% | -0.24% | 0.14% | |
| CHF | 0.49% | 0.14% | 0.21% | 0.24% | 0.22% | -0.38% | -0.14% |
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).
Author
Haresh Menghani
FXStreet
Haresh Menghani is a detail-oriented professional with 10+ years of extensive experience in analysing the global financial markets.
