Dollar Holds Steady Ahead of Key Risk Events

USD

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of major currencies, held steady above 97.60 ahead of a busy week. DXY held most of the gains earned on Friday following a strong jobs report. Investors remained cautious at the beginning of the week as key risk events line up for Wednesday and Thursday. The Federal Reserve Open Market Committee will kick off a two-day meeting today to discuss the latest economic developments and take suitable decisions. The CME Fed Watch tool shows a probability of 99.3% that the Fed will remain on hold.

Indices

Major US stock-index futures trimmed gains as we approach the tariffs deadline. Trump's administration scheduled the 15th of December as a deadline for applying further tariffs on Chinese goods. The recent developments between China and the United States increased market uncertainty, despite the comments from Trump and his team, which aimed at keeping a positive sentiment in the stock market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures dropped to 27881, the S&P500 futures declined to 3134, and Nasdaq futures fell to 8350.

Metals

Gold prices traded sideways ahead of key risk events. Market participants are looking forward to the Fed's evaluation of the US economic outlook while ruling out any change in interest rates. The price of a gold ounce hovered above $1460, and the price of a silver ounce held steady above $16.50. Meanwhile, scarce supply and significant demand by the auto sector pushed palladium to a fresh record high of $1898.

Oil

Oil prices finished slightly lower on Monday weighed down by trade talk’s uncertainty, which capped OPEC+ effect. Oil benchmarks rallied last week as OPEC+ agreed to deepen the supply cut to 1.7 million barrels from 1.2 million barrels previously. However, the uncertainty and lack of clarity circulating the trade talks between China and the United States are keeping markets fragile, especially as we approach the December 15th tariff deadline. The West Texas Intermediate crude futures dropped to $58.21, and Brent futures declined to $63.60.

Major Economic Events

Disclaimer 

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