Talking Points:

  • US Dollar closing the week higher following the taper announcement
  • Euro-zone inflation miss doesn’t disturb dollar traders

A look back at the past week of Forex trading using movements in the US Dollar Index:

US Dollar 1-Hour 17:00 01/26 to 12:00 01/31 EST

Graphic_Rewind_Dollar_Closing_the_Week_Higher_Following_Cut_to_QE_body_Picture_1.png, Graphic Rewind: Dollar Closing the Week Higher Following Cut to QE

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The Dow Jones FXCM US Dollar Index rose slightly over the past week of trading, as the major headline was the FOMC’s decision to taper its asset purchases by an additional 10 billion dollars.

The greenback index fell further below 10,700 over a quiet Sunday and Monday. A small jump on Tuesday morning was erased by the announcement of a surprise decline in US durable goods orders. The dollar index then returned to a range through the rest of Tuesday.

A brief spike in the dollar on Wednesday morning was erased as traders positioned ahead of the FOMC policy announcement. The decision to taper by an additional 10 billion was expected by most economists, but when looking at the chart above, there does some to be a longer-term dollar positive impact through the rest of the week.

On Friday, a worse than expected Euro-zone inflation release only sent the Euro down slightly, and the move could barely be spotted in US Dollar Index trading.

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Charts created by Benjamin Spier using Marketscope 2.0

-- Written by Benjamin Spier, DailyFX Research. Feedback can be sent to bbspier@fxcm.com .


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