The U.S. dollar got 2024 off to a strong start, achieving its biggest daily rise on Tuesday since March last year. This comes as investors continue to bet that the Federal Reserve will introduce interest rate cuts as early as March 2024. This comes after the dollar fell by 2.7% over the course of last year; the currency’s worst performance since 2020.
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose by 0.7% on Tuesday, while during early trading on Wednesday, the greenback advanced 0.3%, with the Japanese yen, Australian dollar and Swiss franc all on the decline. Still, analysts have acknowledged that expectations surrounding the Federal Reserve’s next moves continue to drive the trajectory of the dollar.
Helen Given, an FX spot trader at Monex USA, has indicated that factors driving the dollar upwards may be overplayed. “We still don’t believe the Fed will be cutting rates as soon as March, and the minutes tomorrow are likely to prove us to be more correct than not,” the trader admitted.