The US dollar remained steady in early Asian trading on Friday, holding near a three-month high, as investors digested mixed global signals — from central bank decisions and corporate earnings to a temporary trade truce between Washington and Beijing.
The dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback against six major currencies, was unchanged at 99.478 points after Thursday’s losses on Wall Street prompted investors to adopt a more cautious stance.
Against the Japanese yen, the dollar slipped 0.1% to ¥153.935, retreating slightly from its nine-month peak. The move followed data showing Tokyo’s core inflation rose 2.8% year-on-year in October, complicating the Bank of Japan’s efforts to balance inflation control with economic growth after it kept interest rates unchanged on Thursday.
Currency strategist Rodrigo Catril of National Australia Bank (Sydney) noted that “risk aversion is supporting the dollar, especially as the Federal Reserve remains cautious about another rate cut this year.”
Market expectations for a US rate cut in December have eased, with the CME FedWatch Tool now showing a 74.7% probability of a 25-basis-point cut at the December 10 meeting, down from 91.1% a week ago.
Meanwhile, the euro edged 0.1% higher to $1.1572 after the European Central Bank (ECB) held interest rates steady at 2% for the third consecutive meeting, signaling that monetary policy is currently “in a good place” as inflationary risks begin to recede.
Elsewhere, the offshore Chinese yuan traded flat at 7.1089 per dollar ahead of China’s October PMI data release, while the Australian and New Zealand dollars remained little changed at $0.6555 and $0.574, respectively.
