US Dollar clinches fresh highs near 100.30 ahead of Fedspeak

The US Dollar Index – which gauges the buck vs. its main rivals – keeps pushing higher today, now printing fresh 2016 tops in the boundaries of 100.30.

US Dollar focus on Fedspeak

The index gathered further traction following the opening bell in Wall St. on Monday, pushing the risk-associated assets to fresh lows and both DowJones and the Russel 2000 to fresh record highs at levels just below 19,000 pts and above 1,300 pts, respectively.

USD is navigating levels last seen in November 2015 in the 100.30 area, as the optimism on a Trump’s ‘market-friendly’ presidency remains everything but abated, adding at the same time to prospects of higher inflation.

In the same direction, expectations of a Fed’s rate hike next month continues to fuel the appetite for the buck, with the probability of higher rates in December at just above 81% according to CME Group’s FedWatch tool.

Looking ahead, the week looks packed with Fed speakers: starting today, Dallas Fed R.Kaplan (2017 voter, neutral), Richmond Fed J.Lacker (2018 voter, hawkish) and San Francisco Fed J.Williams (2018 voter, neutral) are all expected later in the NA session, with the USD in centre stage.

US Dollar relevant levels

The index is up 1.11% at 100.16 and a break above of 100.22 (high Nov.14) would target 100.60 (high Dec.3 2015). On the other hand, the next support aligns at 99.20 (low Nov.14) followed by 98.29 (20-day sma) en route to 96.94 (low Nov.4).

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