The dollar showed moderate gains against major world currencies Monday morning.
The ICE-calculated index, which shows the U.S. dollar against six currencies (euro, Swiss franc, yen, Canadian dollar, pound sterling and Swedish krona), is up about 0.1%. The broader WSJ Dollar Index is up 0.2%.
The euro/dollar pair is trading at $0.9950 by 7:45 a.m. Q, versus $0.9960 at the close of last Friday’s session, the euro is losing about 0.1%.
The dollar/yen is up 0.3% at 147.08 yen from 146.62 yen at the end of last week.
The pound is trading at $1.1333, up from $1.1377 at the close of the previous session.
Currency traders continue to try to predict the future trajectory of Federal Reserve interest rates. Currently, the market generally expects the Fed to slow the rate hike in December and raise it by 50 basis points after raising it by 75 bps at four previous meetings, Trading Economics writes.
In addition, market participants are waiting for data on October inflation in the U.S., which may affect the Fed’s decision. The report will be released Thursday, and analysts polled by Trading Economics on average expect it to point to a slowdown in inflation in October to 8% from September’s 8.2%.
Meanwhile, the mainland yuan is down 0.4% to 7.2119 per $1, and the offshore yuan, which is traded in Hong Kong, is down 0.54% to 7.2154 per $1.
The Wall Street Journal wrote last Friday, citing several sources, that Zeng Guang, a former top epidemiologist at China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said during a conference that a major change in the country’s approach to the coronavirus pandemic was expected in 2023.
Over the weekend, however, Beijing reiterated its intention to adhere “rigorously” to a “zero tolerance” policy for COVID-19.
“Previous practices have shown that our prevention and control plans, as well as a series of strategic measures, have been absolutely correct,” Bloomberg quoted CDCP official Hu Xiang as saying.
