US Dollar Rises as Bond Market Ignites: A Look at Dollar's Resurgence

FX Daily: Bond bears give new energy to the dollar

A very soft 30-year Treasury auction and hawkish comments by Powell triggered a rebound in US yields and the dollar yesterday. Dynamics in the rates market will remain key while awaiting market-moving US data. In the UK, growth numbers in line with expectations, while in Norway, inflation surprised to the upside.

USD: Auction and Powell trigger dollar rebound

The dollar chased the spike in US yields yesterday following a big tailing in the 30-year Treasury auction and hawkish comments by Fed Chair Jerome Powell. Speaking at the IMF conference, Powell warned against reading too much into the softer inflation figures and cautioned that the inflation battle remains long, with another hike still possible. If we look at the Fed Funds future curve, it is clear that markets remain highly doubtful another hike will be delivered at all, but Powell’s remarks probably represent the culmination of a pushback against the recent dovish repricing.

Remember that in last week’s FOMC announcement, the admission that financial conditions had tightened came with the caveat that the impact on the economy and inflation would have depended on how long rates would have been kept elevated. The hawkish rhetoric pushed by Powell suggests that the Fed still prefers higher Treasury yields doing the tightening rather than hiking again, and that is exactly what markets are interpreting. The soft auction for long-dated Treasuries also signals the post-NFP correction in rates may well have been overdone and could set a new floor for yields unless data point to a worsening US outlook.

Today’s highlights in the US calendar are the University of Michigan surveys. Particular focus will be on the 1-year inflation gauge, which is expected to fall from 4.2% to 4.0%. On the Fed side, we’ll hear from Lorie Logan, Raphael Bostic and Mary Daly.

Dynamics across the US yield curve will have a big say in whether the dollar can hold on to its new gains. Anyway, we had called for a recovery in DXY to 106.00 as the Fed would have likely pushed back against the dovish repricing. The rebound in yields should put a floor under the dollar, but we suspect some reassurances from the data side will be needed for another big jump in the greenback.