- The Greenback starts to loose ground against most major peers on Wednesday.
- US President Trump is set to announce reciprocal tariffs on Wednesday.
- The US Dollar Index trades stable around 104.10, while looking for any sort of driver.
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the performance of the US Dollar (USD) against six major currencies, starts to turn red and dips below 104.00 at the time of writing on Wednesday, while equities sell off and bond yields drop. The Greenback remains sidelined just hours before United States (US) President Donald Trump announces the reciprocal tariff implementation at the White House at 20:00 GMT. The White House and the Trump administration are very sketchy in details, and until now, it remains unclear what the tariffs will mean for markets.
On the economic data releases, this Wednesday’s main event was the Automatic Data Processing (ADP) private sector employment data. As per usual in the Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) week, the ADP number precedes the official NFP number from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Although there is no real correlation between the NFP and the ADP numbers for the private sector, this Wednesday’s upbeat numer sets the tone for expectations for Friday.
Daily digest market movers: Pressure builds
- The ADP Employment Change data for March jumped to 155,000, beating the 105,000 expectation in new employment compared to 77,000 in February.
- At 14:00 GMT, the February Factory Orders data will be released. Expectations are for a softer increase of 0.5% compared to the previous 1.7% seen in January.
- At 20:00 GMT, the main event for this Wednesday, US President Donald Trump will announce wide-ranging tariffs in an event he named “Liberation Day.” The moves could significantly affect global trade and financial assets.
- Equities turn blood red ahead of the US trading session. Both European and US equity incides are all down over 1% on the day.
- According to the CME Fedwatch Tool, the probability of interest rates remaining at the current range of 4.25%-4.50% in May’s meeting is 85.5%. For June’s meeting, the odds for borrowing costs being lower stand at 74.4%.
- The US 10-year yield trades around 4.11%, a fresh monthly low as bonds are bid as safe haven resort.
US Dollar Index Technical Analysis: Finally getting some action
The US Dollar Index (DXY) could see again no big moves or changes even after Trump’s announcement of “Liberation Day”. Traders are still left in the dark about the impact of all these levies and tariffs on the US and the global economy. While a local US recession would see a substantially lower US Dollar, a global slowdown would benefit and strengthen the Greenback as a safe haven asset.
In that case, a return to the 105.00 round level could still occur in the coming days, with the 200-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) roughly converging at that point and reinforcing this area as a strong resistance at 104.93. Once broken through that zone, a string of pivotal levels, such as 105.53 and 105.89, could limit the upward momentum.
On the downside, the 104.00 round level is the first nearby support, although it looks bleak after being tested since Friday. If that level does not hold, the DXY risks falling back into that March range between 104.00 and 103.00. Once the lower end at 103.00 gives way, watch out for 101.90 on the downside.
US Dollar Index: Daily Chart
Tariffs FAQs
Tariffs are customs duties levied on certain merchandise imports or a category of products. Tariffs are designed to help local producers and manufacturers be more competitive in the market by providing a price advantage over similar goods that can be imported. Tariffs are widely used as tools of protectionism, along with trade barriers and import quotas.
Although tariffs and taxes both generate government revenue to fund public goods and services, they have several distinctions. Tariffs are prepaid at the port of entry, while taxes are paid at the time of purchase. Taxes are imposed on individual taxpayers and businesses, while tariffs are paid by importers.
There are two schools of thought among economists regarding the usage of tariffs. While some argue that tariffs are necessary to protect domestic industries and address trade imbalances, others see them as a harmful tool that could potentially drive prices higher over the long term and lead to a damaging trade war by encouraging tit-for-tat tariffs.
During the run-up to the presidential election in November 2024, Donald Trump made it clear that he intends to use tariffs to support the US economy and American producers. In 2024, Mexico, China and Canada accounted for 42% of total US imports. In this period, Mexico stood out as the top exporter with $466.6 billion, according to the US Census Bureau. Hence, Trump wants to focus on these three nations when imposing tariffs. He also plans to use the revenue generated through tariffs to lower personal income taxes.
