Dollar slips lower ahead of weekly claims data; sterling awaits BoE decision
The U.S. dollar slipped slightly lower Thursday as expectations of Federal Reserve rate cuts grew while trade uncertainties remained..
At 04:10 ET (08:10 GMT), the Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six other currencies, traded 0.1% lower to 97.877, after a 0.6% slide in the previous session.
Initial jobless claims due
The greenback has been on the slide after last week’s disappointing jobs report, with weak U.S. services sector activity earlier in the week adding to the notion that the Trump administration’s tariffs are impacting the U.S. economy negatively.
Weekly initial jobless claims are due later in the session, and are expected to show that initial claims for unemployment benefits rose by 3,000 to 221,000 for the week ended August 2.
Traders are pricing in around a 94% chance of a Fed cut in September, up from 48% a week ago, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch Tool. In total, traders see 60.5 basis points in cuts this year.
Investors will also be keeping an eye on the global tariffs landscape, with U.S. President Donald Trump stating late Wednesday evening, via social media, that his trade tariffs on major economies will take effect from midnight.
In Europe, EUR/USD rose 0.2% to 1.1689, with the single currency helped by reports that Trump could meet Russian leader Vladimir Putin as soon as next week, as the U.S. kept up pressure on Moscow to end the war in Ukraine.
GBP/USD rose 0.2% to 1.3378, gaining ahead of a policy-setting meeting of the Bank of England later in the session.
The U.K.’s central bank is widely expected to cut its key interest rate to 4% from 4.25% on Thursday, making it five cuts in the past year.
Investors will be looking for its future guidance given the difficult balance the members have to negotiate between a slowing jobs market and nagging inflation worries.
Elsewhere, USD/JPY traded 0.3% lower to 146.94, even after confusing reports suggesting Washington intended to add its 15% levy on to already existing tariffs on Japanese goods.
AUD/USD rose 0.4% to 0.6526, benefiting from a stronger-than-expected trade balance for June. The figure was driven by a 6% jump in exports, which rebounded sharply from a deep contraction in the prior month.
Source: Investing.com
