Demand for the American Currency Remains at a High Level

Yesterday, the US dollar continued to strengthen against the major leading currencies. The dollar index (#DX) increased by 0.37%. The Fed’s Chairman Janet Yellen said that a gradual increase in interest rates would be appropriate, despite weak inflation in the country. The probability of tightening the Fed’s monetary policy in December 2017 increased to 76.4%. At the beginning of this month, the figure was less than 40%.

At the same time, the US published quite weak economic reports. In September, the consumer confidence index decreased from 120.4 to 119.8. Market expectations were at 120.0. In August, new home sales in the US declined by 3.4% to 560,000. Experts expected the growth rate to reach 588,000.

Today, President Donald Trump’s press conference on tax reform and the meeting of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand is at the center of attention. Most experts believe that the Central Bank will leave interest rates at the previous level of 1.75%.

At the moment, the “black gold” prices are stable. Futures for the WTI crude oil are consolidating in the range of$ 51.75- $ 52.25 per barrel.

Market Indicators

Yesterday, the major US stock indices showed a variety of trends: #SPY (+0.06%), #DIA (-0.06%), #QQQ (+0.26%).

At the moment, the 10-year US government bonds yield shows a positive trend. The indicator is at the level of 2.25-2.26%.

At 18:45 (GMT+3:00) the head of the Bank of Canada Poloz will give a speech.