Dollar droops before Powell testimony; euro firm after French vote
Updates prices
By Kevin Buckland
TOKYO, July 9 (Reuters) -The U.S. dollar hung near its lowest in almost a month versus major peers on Tuesday, still smarting from Friday's unexpectedly soft jobs report as traders awaited testimony from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for clues on the path of interest rates.
The euro held its ground after Monday's sharp swings as investors come to terms with a hung parliament in France, which points to potential political gridlock but lessens fiscal concerns stemming from outright far-right or leftist victories.
The U.S. dollar index =USD, which measures the currency against the euro, sterling, yen and three other major peers, was flat at 104.99, sticking close to the overnight low of 104.80, a 3 1/2-week trough.
The index slumped 0.9% last week, exacerbated by Friday's monthly payrolls report, which boosted bets for the Fed to soon start cutting rates.
Traders currently see about a 76% chance of a rate cut at the September meeting, up from 66% a week ago, according to the CME Group's FedWatch Tool. Another cut is expected by December.
Chair Powell gives two days of testimony before Congress, beginning later on Tuesday with the Senate and followed by the House on Wednesday.
Consumer price data on Thursday could also be crucial, market watchers said, with recent numbers showing a cooling from unexpectedly high levels at the start of the year.
"All ears will be on how Powell communicates the risks between stubborn inflation and unnecessary labour market deterioration," said Ray Attrill, head of FX strategy at National Australia Bank, who expects the U.S. dollar to decline over the longer term.
Meanwhile, markets have taken "a fairly sanguine view" of the French poll results, Attrill added, "viewing political gridlock - and with that a high degree of fiscal policy inertia - as the most likely way forward for France, a more benign scenario than any of the alternatives."
The euro EUR=EBS edged up 0.06% to $1.08295, not far from Monday's nearly four-week peak of $1.0845. The single currency also dipped as low as $1.07915 that same day.
Sterling GBP=D3 traded flat at $1.2809, after rising as high as $1.28455 on Monday, its strongest since June 12.
Bank of England policymaker Jonathan Haskel said that day he wanted to keep interest rates on hold as inflation pressures remained in the jobs market.
Traders currently see a 61% chance of the BoE cutting rates on Aug. 1 - odds that Commonwealth Bank of Australia analysts view as too high.
"We have high confidence that interest rates will be left unchanged in August," said senior currency strategist Kristina Clifton.
"We favour a later start to the rate cutting cycle in September because there is uncertainty around the strength of the labour market, and services inflation is still very high."
The yen was little changed at 160.945 per dollar JPY=EBS, finding some equilibrium this week after rebounding from Wednesday's nearly 38-year trough of 161.96.
The currency has found little succour in increased speculation the Bank of Japan may raise rates again on July 31, following the first hike since 2007 in March.
Japan's central bank is also due to announce a plan for quantitative tightening at its month-end policy meeting. It began two days of meetings with bond market participants on Tuesday about how to proceed without riling markets.
World FX rates https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E
Reporting by Kevin Buckland; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Edwina Gibbs
Relaterade tillgångar
Senaste nytt
Ansvarsfriskrivning: XM Group-enheter tillhandahåller sin tjänst enbart för exekvering och tillgången till vår onlinehandelsplattform, som innebär att en person kan se och/eller använda tillgängligt innehåll på eller via webbplatsen, påverkar eller utökar inte detta, vilket inte heller varit avsikten. Denna tillgång och användning omfattas alltid av i) villkor, ii) riskvarningar och iii) fullständig ansvarsfriskrivning. Detta innehåll tillhandahålls därför uteslutande som allmän information. Var framför allt medveten om att innehållet på vår onlinehandelsplattform varken utgör en uppmaning eller ett erbjudande om att ingå några transaktioner på de finansiella marknaderna. Handel på alla finansiella marknader involverar en betydande risk för ditt kapital.
Allt material som publiceras på denna sida är enbart avsett för utbildnings- eller informationssyften och innehåller inte – och ska inte heller anses innehålla – rådgivning och rekommendationer om finansiella frågor, investeringsskatt eller handel, dokumentation av våra handelskurser eller ett erbjudande om, eller en uppmaning till, en transaktion i finansiella instrument eller oönskade finansiella erbjudanden som är riktade till dig.
Tredjepartsinnehåll, liksom innehåll framtaget av XM såsom synpunkter, nyheter, forskningsrön, analyser, kurser, andra uppgifter eller länkar till tredjepartssajter som återfinns på denna webbplats, tillhandahålls i befintligt skick, som allmän marknadskommentar, och utgör ingen investeringsrådgivning. I den mån som något innehåll tolkas som investeringsforskning måste det noteras och accepteras att innehållet varken har varit avsett som oberoende investeringsforskning eller har utarbetats i enlighet med de rättsliga kraven för att främja ett sådant syfte, och därför är att betrakta som marknadskommunikation enligt tillämpliga lagar och föreskrifter. Se till så att du har läst och förstått vårt meddelande om icke-oberoende investeringsforskning och riskvarning om ovannämnda information, som finns här.