Here is what you need to know on Tuesday, September 20:
Major currency pair trade in familiar ranges on Tuesday as investors move to the sidelines ahead of key central bank policy decisions. The US Dollar Index (DXY), which closed virtually unchanged on Monday, moves sideways slightly above 109.50 and the market mood improves modestly with US stock index futures rising between 0.2% and 0.3%. Later in the day, Building Permits and Housing Starts data for August will be featured in the US economic docket. Consumer Price Index (CPI) figures from Canada will also be watched closely by market participants.
Wall Street Journal author Nick Timiraos, who correctly leaked the 75 basis points (bps) rate hike in July, published an article late Monday and refrained from suggesting that the Fed could raise its policy rate by 100 bps on Wednesday. The greenback lost some interest after this development and the DXY erased its daily gains. The benchmark 10-year US Treasury bond yield stays relatively quiet near 3.5% on Tuesday.
Federal Reserve Preview: Forecasting 5% interest rates? Dollar to move on dot-plot, Powell's pledges.
Earlier in the day, Sweden's central bank, Riksbank, announced that it raised its policy rate by 100 bps to 1.75%, compared to Reuters' estimate for a rate increase of 75 bps. With the initial reaction, EUR/SEK fell to a fresh daily low of 10.7305 but managed to recover to the 10.8000 area.
During the Asian trading hours, the Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) September monetary policy meeting minutes showed that policymakers saw a case for a slower pace of rate increases as becoming stronger. AUD/USD's reaction to the RBA's publication was largely muted and the pair was last seen trading flat on the day at around 0.6730.
Annual CPI in Canada is expected to decline to 7.4% in August from 7.6% in July. Ahead of this data, the USD/CAD pair trades in a tight range near the mid-1.3200s.
EUR/USD managed to stage a rebound in the second half of the day on Monday and closed in positive territory above parity. The pair was last seen posting small daily gains near 1.0030.
GBP/USD clings to modest daily gains at around 1.1450 early Tuesday. “There aren’t currently any negotiations taking place with the US and I don’t have any expectation that those are going to start in the short to medium term," British Prime Minister Liz Truss said regarding a potential trade deal with the US but these comments were largely ignored by market participants.
The data from Japan revealed on Tuesday that the National CPI climbed to 3% in August from 2.6% in July. Although this print came in stronger than the market expectation of 2.6%, USD/JPY managed to hold its ground and was last seen rising 0.2% on the day at 143.50.
Gold is having a tough time attracting buyers and trading in negative territory slightly above $1,670. The resilience of the 10-year US T-bond yield makes it difficult for XAU/USD to gather recovery momentum.
Bitcoin shook off the bearish pressure late Monday but it's yet to reclaim $20,000. Ethereum gained nearly 3% on Monday but failed to preserve its bullish momentum early Tuesday. At the time of press, ETH/USD was down 1% on the day at $1,360.
