Pre-holiday move to safety starts a little early

With trading volumes already starting to slip–trading in Standard & Poor’s 500 stocks was running about 25% below its average for this time of day at noon today–traders and investors are locking in some gains and seeking safety for the week before Christmas. As of 1 p.m. New York time gold was up for the day and the dollar was down.

Currency traders long U.S. dollars figure there’s another 2% to 3% free money in this trade before the end of the year

Currency traders long U.S. dollars figure there’s another 2% to 3% free money in this trade before the end of the year

Yesterday the dollar rose another 1.2% against the euro to $1.0415, the highest since January 2003. And the US. currency climbed by another 1.4% against the yen. The Dollar Index added to its gain to hit a 15-year high.
Today the dollar has backed off a bit. Not surprising after the huge two-day run after Wednesday’s Federal Reserve meeting. But this does all raise the question of how much more there is left in the run.

A strong dollar is on a path to get even stronger

A strong dollar is on a path to get even stronger

The U.S. dollar continues to move up. The Dollar Spot Index (DXY) has climbed 3.2% since November 4 to 100.16 as of noon today, November 15. That puts the index, which tracks the U.S. dollar against a basket of currencies from significant trading partners, knocking on the door of resistance at 100. (The 52-week high for the index is 100.51.)