Key points:
- Dollar index powers up to 103.
- Rival currencies step back.
- Jobless claims arrive Thursday.
Forex traders got a hold of US dollar after scrambling to start the week and getting rattled by bruising selloff across the board.
- The US dollar index
DXY advanced early Tuesday morning as traders were finding their courage back after a painful selloff hit global markets on Monday. The currency gauge, measuring the dollar’s strength against a basket of six forex peers, popped 0.8% from its Monday low to float near the 103.00 mark in today’s early deals. However, stomach-churning volatility might decide to start wreaking havoc at any moment. - Currency markets appear relatively calm to start trading after yesterday’s storm, triggered by a weak jobs report. The EUR/USD pair reversed some of its Monday gains, thanks to the climbing dollar. And so did the USD/JPY, which almost erased all its gains throughout the year. The Japanese yen was front and center in the forex corner yesterday. Now, some of its gains are gone as the dollar flipped the script, floating near ¥146 from a Monday low of ¥141.60.
- Not many major news are scheduled to go out this week, potentially allowing traders to get a breather after the mayhem start of trading this week. The initial jobless claims slated for Thursday will likely be carefully parsed as they will show how many Americans filed for unemployment benefits over the past week. The indicator is used as a proxy for layoffs — the higher the number, the tighter the labor market.
