Dollar Falls Further as Treasury Yields Tumble

USD

The dollar index which measures the United States dollar performance against a basket of the world's major currencies fell sharply for the second consecutive day, hitting 92.24, its lowest level in two weeks as Treasury yields softened. The US Treasury yields moved south as the markets came back from a long weekend, as investors seemed to unwind some aggressive bets over fast policy tightening by the Fed. The US 10-year yields declined to a ten-day low of 1.631%. The USDJPY dipped to 109.57, and the EURUSD rallied to $1.1881. Market participants are looking forward to the minutes of the last monetary policy meeting to be published today for further insight on Fed's policy path.

Equities

Major US stock index futures eased from their interim tops as investors were seen taking profits after a prolonged rally. President Biden's coronavirus-fighting plan is going as expected with vaccine rollout going at a pretty faster pace than forecast. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures retreated to 33314, the S&P500 futures slipped to 4060, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped to 13547.

Metals

Precious metals prices rallied as the dollar slipped along with Treasury yields. The price of a gold ounce rose to $1744, the price of a silver ounce settled above $25, and palladium held steady near $2660.

Oil

Oil prices surrendered early session gains as the World powers and Iran declared that they had "constructive" talks to revive the 2015 nuclear deal. Going back to the agreement means that the US would lift sanctions on Iranian oil, which will be pumped again to the world markets, at a time where producers are struggling to keep supply low, as the demand recovery road seems shaky. On the other hand, the American Petroleum Institute reported a decline of 2.618 in crude stock ahead of official figures by the US Energy Information Administration later today. The West Texas Intermediate crude May contract slipped to 59.06, and Brent Blend June contract fell to $62.59.

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