Dollar Climbs as Traders Brace for CPI and Warsh Testimony
The USD is gaining broad ground ahead of June CPI data and Fed Chair Warsh's congressional testimony — two events that could reset rate expectations fast.
The dollar is on offense to kick off the North American session, pushing higher against every major currency. The New Zealand dollar is taking the worst hit, down 0.89% to 0.5799, giving back gains from last week's RBNZ rate hike. The Aussie and Canadian dollar are next in line, each sliding roughly a third of a percent. Safe-haven funding currencies — the euro and yen — are barely budging, down just 0.12% each. Classic defensive positioning.
Here's why you should care: June CPI drops today, and the numbers matter. Markets expect headline inflation to jump to 4.2% year-over-year from 3.8% last month. Core CPI is seen ticking up to 2.9% from 2.8%. Fed Governor Waller already put traders on notice Monday — another firm core reading keeps the door open to another rate hike, and he's not pivoting without several months of softer data. That's not a friendly backdrop for risk assets.
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Then there's Fed Chair Kevin Warsh testifying before Congress. His prepared remarks could drop the same moment CPI hits the tape. If Warsh echoes Waller's hawkish tone after a hot print, dollar bulls get a green light. If CPI surprises to the downside, you could see a sharp unwind of today's defensive trades. Either way, this is a market sitting on a coiled spring.
On the equity side, the Dow is getting torched by IBM, which cratered nearly 23% in premarket after missing badly on both earnings and revenue. Meanwhile, the big banks mostly beat — Goldman crushed estimates and is trading higher, while JPMorgan and Bank of America beat on every line but are still slipping in premarket. Go figure. The Nasdaq is catching a bid, showing the market isn't in full risk-off mode yet — just cautious.
Position light, watch the CPI print, and don't get caught leaning the wrong way into Warsh's remarks. Continue reading at Forexlive.