US Dollar Index Slips to a one-week low

USD

The dollar index which measures the greenback against a basket of major currencies slipped to a one-week low of 96.32 ahead of the European trading session. The ongoing US political uncertainty (US government shutdown) and signs of a global economic slowdown hit investors’ confidence. The December CB Consumer Confidence dropped to 128.1 versus an expectation of 133.7, the largest slump in almost three years. Since yesterday, the EURUSD rose around 1% to $1.1465, the USDJPY lost almost 0.9% to 110.35, and the USDCHF tumbled 1.1% to a 0.9840.

Equities

Major US indices erased early heavy losses and bounced up to end the day in green. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 1% to 23100, the S&P500 futures climbed 0.7% to 2486, and the Nasdaq futures added 0.4% to 6308.

Metals

Gold prices rallied to a fresh six-month high as the dollar tumbled along with treasury yields. The gold ounce reversed Wednesday's losses and gained 1% to $1282. Meanwhile, the silver ounce is on the rise for the fourth consecutive day trading at a five-month high of $15.34, near the 200-day simple moving average.

Oil

Oil prices drifted slightly lower to give up some of Wednesday's gains. The American Petroleum Institute reported that the US weekly crude oil stock rose by 6.9 million barrels to 448.2 million barrels last week. The West Texas Intermediate crude futures lost 2.6% to $45.24, and Brent futures plunged 3.6% to $52.95. Market participants await the release of the official inventory data by the Energy Information Administration later today. Also, the US energy services firm Baker Hughes will report the weekly US oil rig count.

Major Economic Events

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