During today's Asian trading, the US dollar consolidated against major currencies amid a lack of new catalysts and low trading activity, as Japanese markets were closed for Autumn Equinox Day.
The US Dollar Currency Index (DXY), which tracks the dynamics of the dollar against six currencies (euro, swiss franc, yen, canadian dollar, pound sterling and swedish krona) rose by 0.03% to 100.75. Analysts said that after the sharp Fed rate cut, market fears about the recession in the United States eased. Meanwhile, on Friday, Fed Governor Christopher Waller said he was worried inflation may soon be running substantially below the central bank's 2% target. According to the CME FedWatch Tool, markets see a 51.2% probability of a 0.25% rate cut at the November meeting and a 50% probability of a 0.50% rate cut in December, with a 0.73% rate cut expected by the end of the year.
The euro was almost unchanged against the US dollar. Investors now look to preliminary manufacturing and services PMI reports in Europe to gauge the region's economic health. According to forecasts, the manufacturing PMI fell to 45.6 in September from 45.8 in August, and the services PMI fell to 52.4 from 52.9.
The Australian dollar rose 0.3% against the US dollar, helped by news from China (Australia's main trading partner). Media reported that the Central Bank of China surprised markets by lowering the 14-day repo rate by 0.1%. Meanwhile, China's financial regulators will hold an ad-hoc press briefing on Tuesday, fueling expectations that Beijing could announce new stimulus measures to boost its economy.