Dollar Drifts Lower Ahead of Fed Minutes
The U.S. Dollar
The U.S. dollar experienced a slight drop in early European trade on Monday, surrendering some recent gains as traders awaited the release of the latest Fed minutes. This was due to the holiday-affected trade conditions and the potential for insight into the outlook for U.S. interest rates.
Dollar Index Movement
At 04:00 ET (09:00 GMT), the Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six other currencies, traded 0.1% lower at 104.067, remaining close to three-month highs.
Recent Dollar Gains
The Presidents’ Day holiday in the U.S. has limited activity in the foreign exchange markets Monday, and traders have used the opportunity to back some recent dollar gains.
Main Focus on Fed Meeting
The main focus this week will be on the release of the Fed meeting from last month, scheduled for Wednesday, while several Fed officials, including Christopher Waller and Raphael Bostic, are also due to speak this week.
Euro and Pound Movement
In Europe, the euro traded 0.1% higher at 1.0783, while sterling traded 0.2% higher at 1.2622, with sterling helped by the slight dollar weakness as well as the spillover from Friday’s data showing U.K. grew at their fastest pace in nearly three years in January.
Yen and Yuan Trends
In Asia, the yen fell 0.2% to 149.94, while the yuan edged 0.1% higher to 7.1986, remaining in sight of a three-month low.
