The US Dollar traded broadly lower on Wednesday, slipping to around five-week lows as traders weighed the Democrats’ victory at the US midterm elections. The US Dollar Index dropped close to the 101.00 area before staging a modest recovery.
Euro and sterling advance
EUR/USD touched multi-week tops near 1.1270. By late trading on 4 November, the pair stood at $1.1218, according to MacroHerald’s own measurement taken at 18:55 GMT. Speculators held a net short euro position of 143,894 contracts in the week to 27 October, up from 134,524 contracts a week earlier.
GBP/USD briefly pierced 1.3500, its first move above that level since mid-September. Our data put the pair at $1.3461 as of 18:55 GMT on 4 November, its highest in 31 days. The Bank of England was due to meet, with markets expecting a rate increase to 4.00 percent.
Yen, Aussie and commodities
USD/JPY faltered around 158.80. AUD/USD reclaimed the 0.7000 handle. Traders were also assessing the chances of an end to the US-Iran crisis following the Democrats’ win.
Front-month WTI fell near $91.00 a barrel, touching three-week lows. Gold reclaimed the $4,000 level per troy ounce, lifted by the dollar’s sell-off and falling US Treasury yields across the curve; our measurement put bullion at $4,060.25 an ounce as of 18:55 GMT on 4 November. Speculators’ net long gold position eased to 186,451 contracts in the week to 27 October from 199,865 contracts the previous week.
Attention now turns to a packed data calendar. US initial jobless claims and Challenger job cuts are due, alongside eurozone and German construction PMI readings, German factory orders and producer prices, final services PMI figures, Bank of Japan minutes, a 10-year JGB auction, and Australian building permits and private house approvals.
Data: Swissquote · CFTC
