020 7898 0500A busy week for the US dollar saw it move significantly against most other major currencies but as this movement was two way as it seems to have ended the week close to where it started.
Monday saw the release of weak industrial production data, along with building permit data on Tuesday, which brought no surprises. The spotlight was on the US Federal Reserve Statement and press conference that followed on Wednesday. The central bank dropped the phrasing ‘patient’ in providing forward guidance on a possible rate rise, which is now expected to be pushed back from July to September this year. Two contributing factors to this are low oil prices and low inflation. Thursday saw a slight increase in unemployment claims on the previous week, a figure which has been strong for the US in the past few weeks, as well as a manufacturing index which showed a decrease on the previous month.
We can expect a busy day again for the US dollar, which might be affected by two Federal Reserve members speaking. The focus will be on their opinions of the recent Federal Reserve statement and interest rate rise.
