The dollar extended its gains against most major currencies on Wednesday, with the dollar index (USDX) up by another 0.51%. On the weekly chart USDX is up by 1.6% as of Thursday 07:50 AM GMT hitting levels last seen in October 2023 and closing in on its highest price level for the past year, at 107.06. The move came following a CPI report from the US that was in line with expectations, as investors continue to assess monetary policy and inflation outlook in the world's largest economy.
The CME FedWatch tool suggests that market participants are anticipating a more aggressive rate cut of 25 basis points in December, with a 82.8% probability, while odds for rates to remain unchanged are at 17.2%.
Asian markets declined on Wednesday, with the Japan 225 down by more than 1%, and the Hong Kong 50 down by 0.30% as at 07:23 AM GMT. Investors appear concerned about the potential impact of a Trump presidency on Sino-U.S. relations and do not appear satisfied with Beijing's latest support measures to shore up China's ailing economy, after the finance ministry unveiled tax incentives on home and land transactions on Wednesday.
Sentiment in Wall Street improved on Wednesday with all three primary stock indices ending the session moderately higher after a release of inflation data that aligned with market expectations. The US Consumer Price Index data, released earlier in the day, indicated a year-over-year increase of 2.6% in October, in line with the consensus forecast. The month-over-month figure also matched expectations at 0.2%. These figures alleviated concerns regarding the potential for a surprise inflation reading to prompt the Federal Reserve to maintain interest rates at their current level in December.
In the cryptos front, Bitcoin rallied to a new record high of $93,536 on Wednesday, closing the day 2.77% higher and outperforming the majority of altcoins including Ethereum. Dogecoin, was one of the few alts that posted higher gains than Bitcoin, ending the session 5% higher. The overall crypto market capitalization high another record high of over $3.12 trillion.
The focus for Thursday lies on the core PPI data report, jobless claims, crude oil inventories from the Energy information administration and speeches from Fed chairman Jerome Powell, BOE governor Bailey and ECB president Lagarde. Some volatility could also be observed on Friday, upon the release of the U.S. monthly retail sales numbers.