Both greenback and British pound currencies traded higher in the absence of significant economic data of driving the market. The euro lost all of its gains versus the U.S. dollar after the French presidential elections whilst the WTI crude oil is trying to cover some of its losses.
U.S. Dollar Soared in the Absence of U.S. Economic Data
The U.S. dollar traded sharply higher against all the major currencies while it has the most aggressive run versus the Swiss Franc. There were no U.S. economic reports released yesterday while bullish investors are still trading off last week’s healthy non-farm payrolls report. Also, the Nasdaq composite and S&P 500 recorded new all-time highs this week following Emmanuel Macron's victory over Marine Le Pen in the French presidential election last Sunday.
FOMC member Loretta J. Mester gave a speech yesterday and said that she doesn’t “subscribe to a wait-and-see attitude on rates” whilst James Bullard, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, said he doesn’t condone a 200bp rate hike “near-term policy moves are ok”. Meanwhile, Friday’s consumer price index and retails sales are the only major piece of data in the U.S. calendar this week.
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