Dollar Holds Steady, Trade Talks Eyed

USD

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of major currencies, finished marginally higher, at 98.98 awaiting fresh fundamental drivers. Market participants are looking forward to two key events that could affect their risk appetite. The first one is the release of the minutes of the latest Federal Open Market Committee meeting, where they will be looking for hints on the US economic outlook and future path of interest rates. The second one is the resumption of trade talks between China and the United States, which is taking place on the 10th and 11th of October. In the last couple of weeks, we witnessed optimism over trade that boosted investors' risk appetite. However, negative headlines on the weekend affected the sentiment. If China and the United States succeeded in solving their trade disputes, the Federal Reserve would have more time to assess the situation before easing further. Currently, the US 10-Year yield sits slightly below 1.60%, the USDJPY is trading near an upside resistance of 107.45, and the EURUSD is hovering in a tight range between support of $1.0955 and resistance of $1.1000

Metals

Gold prices drifted lower as US Treasury yields surged ahead of FOMC minutes and anticipated US-Sino trade talks. The price of a gold ounce declined to a one-week low of $1487, the price of a silver ounce dropped to $17.25, and palladium surrendered gains falling to $1655.

Oil

Oil prices failed to hold intraday gains as investors await the trade talks later this week. The ongoing trade spats between the world's largest economies weighed heavily on the global economic outlook and demand for oil. Solving this matter is a critical issue for oil prices. Oil benchmarks reversed after testing a one-week high, the West Texas Intermediate crude futures tumbled to $52.60, and Brent futures fell to $58.22.

Major Economic Events

Disclaimer 

The prices and news mentioned in this outlook are absolutely no guarantee of future market performance and do not represent the view of ICM.COM. Financial markets can move in either direction causing profits to be made or complete losses to be incurred by the trader. Each trader must decide for themselves what their risk appetite is and ensure that correct risk management procedures are in place before placing any trades.