Skip to content

CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 69% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 69% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

FOMC, GDP and inflation to provide risk catalysts for the USD this week

FOMC meeting minutes, a GDP revision and PCE inflation to guide the dollar price this week.

US dollar Source: Bloomberg

FOMC meeting minutes

Minutes from the last Federal Market Open Committee (FOMC) meeting on the 4th of May, are set for release on Wednesday (25 May) evening (GMT).

Markets will be looking for further clues with regards to the future of monetary tightening in the world's largest economy.

Source: CME Group Fedwatch Tool

The CME Group’s Fedwatch Tool currently suggests that a 50 basis point (bps) hike has a 92.3% probability at the 15 June meeting. The Fedwatch Tool goes on to suggest another 50 bps hike (87.6% probability) at July’s meeting as well.

But while the Federal Reserve (Fed) has become progressively more hawkish at each meeting, the group's outlook towards inflation and growth will come under increased scrutiny.

A more hawkish approach to monetary policy will find some friction against contraction in economic growth, whereby the first quarter produced negative growth of 1.4% year-on-year. The contraction in growth meets Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation still tracking above 8%. Negative growth and high inflation provide two component parts of the ‘stagflation’ conundrum. The third component part to ‘stagflation’ is labour, which at current levels (3.6% unemployment) holds off overuse of the word just yet. Stagflation is known to be a precursor to a recession.

GDP and inflation prints this week as well

Further to Wednesday’s release of the FOMC meeting minutes, markets will be looking to Thursday’s US Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Friday’s Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) Index data for near-term directional guidance.

The preliminary GDP data is a revision of the advance GDP data released last month, which showed an economic contraction of 1.4%. The PCE Index data is the Federal Reserve's preferred measure of inflation and follows on from the recently released CPI data which showed inflation in the world’s largest economy at 8.1% annualised in April this year.

The US dollar – technical view

USD chart Source: ProRealTime

The dollar index is currently correcting from near-term highs. The rising wedge (shaded area), price blowoff (three steepening trendlines), and overbought signals were warnings that we could see a short-term correction of the longer term uptrend, which is now taking place.

Traders respecting the longer term uptrend, will be looking for a bullish price reversal from the short-term correction underway for long entry into the dollar. A confluence of horizontal and trendline support is considered at around the 101.00 mark.

Should we not get a bullish price reversal before this level, and instead see a price close below, we would then be looking for long entry on a bullish price reversal closer to the 99.20 support level.

This information has been prepared by IG, a trading name of IG Markets Ltd and IG Markets South Africa Limited. In addition to the disclaimer below, the material on this page does not contain a record of our trading prices, or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instrument. IG accepts no responsibility for any use that may be made of these comments and for any consequences that result. No representation or warranty is given as to the accuracy or completeness of this information. Consequently any person acting on it does so entirely at their own risk. Any research provided does not have regard to the specific investment objectives, financial situation and needs of any specific person who may receive it. It has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such is considered to be a marketing communication. Although we are not specifically constrained from dealing ahead of our recommendations we do not seek to take advantage of them before they are provided to our clients. See full non-independent research disclaimer and quarterly summary.

Start trading forex today

Trade the largest and most volatile financial market in the world.

  • Spreads start at just 0.6 points on EUR/USD
  • Analyse market movements with our essential selection of charts
  • Speculate from a range of platforms, including on mobile

Find out more

Live prices on most popular markets

  • Forex
  • Shares
  • Indices

Prices above are subject to our website terms and agreements. Prices are indicative only

Plan your trading week

Get the week’s market-moving news sent directly to your inbox every Monday. The Week Ahead gives you a full calendar of upcoming economic events, as well as commentary from our expert analysts on the key markets to watch.

You might be interested in…

<h3>How much does trading cost?</h3>
<h3>Find out about IG</h3>
<h3>Plan your trading</h3>

Find out what charges your trades could incur with our transparent fee structure.

Discover why so many clients choose us, and what makes us a world-leading provider of CFDs.

Stay on top of upcoming market-moving events with our customisable economic calendar.