The U.S. dollar strengthened against major currencies on Thursday, with the dollar index (USDX) up by 0.37% reaching a one-year peak and continuing its five-day uptrend. This surge was driven by market anticipation that the incoming administration's policies, such as imposing trade tariffs, tightening immigration regulations, and increasing the deficit, would lead to higher inflation. In addition, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said resilience in the U.S. economy meant the central bank could take its time to cut rates further. His remarks prompted traders to diminish their expectations for a rate reduction in December.
The CME FedWatch tool suggests that market participants are anticipating a more aggressive rate cut of 25 basis points in December, with a 62.4% probability, while odds for rates to remain unchanged are at 37.6%.
Britain's economy experienced a setback in September, contracting by 0.1% according to GDP data released early on Friday. This decline was primarily attributed to a stagnant services sector, coupled with contractions in manufacturing and construction. Moreover, the overall economic growth for the third quarter slowed significantly to 0.1%, a sharp decrease from the 0.5% growth observed in the second quarter. The GBP/USD appears to be on a sharp decline, down 2% on the weekly chart and headed for a seventh consecutive weekly loss.
Wall Street experienced a downturn on Thursday, with all three major stock indices closing lower on Thursday, with the decline intensifying on Friday morning. Part of this move was attributed to a speech by Fed Chair Powell, which raised doubts about a potential rate cut in December. PPI data reported on Thursday aligned with CPI data from a day earlier indicating a potential slowdown in underlying inflationary pressures. However, the current outlook for core Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) remains sufficiently soft to support the Federal Reserve's anticipated rate cut in December.
In the cryptos front, Bitcoin retraced from its record highs on Thursday, ending the day 3.37% lower as broader risk appetite was hit by increased uncertainty over U.S. interest rates. The overall crypto market capitalization fell from $3.12 trillion to $3.03 trillion.
The focus for Thursday lies on growth numbers from the U.K. in the form of GDP, U.S. core retail sales data and the Empire State Manufacturing Index. Some price action could also be observed upon the release of US import prices, industrial production and business inventories.