What’s next? – USDJPY 30.04.18

The dollar was trading 0.21 percent higher vs the Japanese yen at 109.25 as of 09:00 GMT on Monday, with fresh economic reports and geopolitics dictating direction for the pair.

The US dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six major competitors, was 0.12 percent higher at 91.45 by the time of this writing.

The American currency is holding above the 91 level since last Friday’s drop in US 10-year bond yields to about 2.957 percent from a multiyear peak of 3.035 percent.

Developments in the Korean peninsula also contributed to a stronger dollar. Leaders of North Korea and South Korea agreed to work on peace efforts following a historic summit.

The Trump administration has played a huge role as mediator for the meeting. A peaceful environment is seen as a better opportunity for the US to develop economic alliances.

Now investors are turning their heads to the next monetary policy meeting of the Federal Reserve, which takes places later this week.

The US central bank rose interest rates in March by 25 basis points to a range between 1.50 percent and 1.75 percent. The Federal Reserve forecasts two more hikes this year.

No changes are expected this month, and market players will likely focus on remarks and hints over the regulator’s future plans for the economy.

Ahead in today’s session, market players will be focusing on the core PCE price index at 12:30 GMT. This is Fed’s favourite inflation measure and investors are hoping to see a 1.9 percent advance against a previous month 1.6 percent growth. Personal spending will also be released by that time. Pending home sales for March are up at 14:00 GMT.

FortFS