US Dollar Rises Ahead of FOMC Minutes
The US dollar rose against its major trading partners early Wednesday ahead of a lighter data schedule but a heavy slate of nine appearances by Federal Reserve officials.
The Mortgage Bankers Association said the strong September employment data released last week lifted mortgage rates to their highest level since August in the week ended Oct. 4. Refinance applications fell sharply, but applications for home purchases were roughly steady.
Wholesale inventories data for August are due at 10:00 am ET, followed by weekly crude oil stocks data a and an update to the Atlanta Fed’s gross domestic product growth Nowcast forecast for Q3 around midday.
Boston Fed President Susan Collins said Tuesday evening the Federal Open Market Committee will likely need to cut rates further to assure that economy remains healthy while noting inflation continues to move lower toward the 2% goal.
Later in the evening, Fed Vice Chair Philip Jefferson said risks to inflation and employment are now more in balance, and he will continue to monitor incoming data and the balance of risks when making meeting-by-meeting decisions.
The Fed appearance schedule continues in full force on Wednesday, starting with Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic and followed by Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan. The minutes of the Sept. 17-18 Federal Open Market Committee meeting are due to be released,
A quick summary of foreign exchange activity heading into Wednesday showed that USDEUR fell to 1.0968 from 1.0978.
GBPUSD fell to 1.3093 from 1.3100 on Tuesday. There are no UK data on Wednesday’s schedule. The next Bank of England meeting is scheduled for Nov. 7.
USDJPY rose to 148.5826 from 148.2887 at the Tuesday US close and 147.9700 at the same time Tuesday morning. Japanese business conditions improved in October while machine tool orders declined sharply in September compared with a year earlier, according to data released overnight. The next Bank of Japan meeting is scheduled for Oct. 30-31.
USDCAD rose to 1.3672 from 1.3647 at the Tuesday US close and 1.3639 at the same time Tuesday morning. Data on Canadian consumer sentiment for October is due for release at 11:00 am ET. The next Bank of Canada meeting is scheduled for Oct. 23. #US Dollar Rises Ahead of FOMC Minutes
