Here’s what you need to know on Wednesday, December 31st.
The main event today was the release of the December Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) minutes, which came out in the afternoon. These minutes revealed that many participants are open to further rate cuts if inflation shows signs of declining in the future. Additionally, the document suggested that economic growth might be slightly faster than what was anticipated back in October.
The US Dollar Index (DXY) hovered around 98.20 on Tuesday, experiencing a 0.2% increase as the market processed the FOMC minutes released earlier.
USD price today
The information below outlines the percentage changes of the US dollar (USD) against major currencies today. Notably, the US dollar was the strongest against the British pound.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | australian dollar | new zealand dollar | swiss franc | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | 0.16% | 0.25% | 0.19% | -0.03% | -0.10% | 0.14% | 0.22% | |
| EUR | -0.16% | 0.09% | 0.04% | -0.19% | -0.25% | -0.03% | 0.06% | |
| GBP | -0.25% | -0.09% | -0.04% | -0.28% | -0.35% | -0.13% | -0.05% | |
| JPY | -0.19% | -0.04% | 0.04% | -0.23% | -0.29% | -0.09% | 0.05% | |
| CAD | 0.03% | 0.19% | 0.28% | 0.23% | -0.05% | 0.19% | 0.24% | |
| australian dollar | 0.10% | 0.25% | 0.35% | 0.29% | 0.05% | 0.22% | 0.30% | |
| new zealand dollar | -0.14% | 0.03% | 0.13% | 0.09% | -0.19% | -0.22% | 0.08% | |
| swiss franc | -0.22% | -0.06% | 0.05% | -0.05% | -0.24% | -0.30% | -0.08% |
The heat map illustrates the percentage changes between major currencies. The base currency is indicated in the left column, while the quote currency is shown in the top row. For instance, selecting USD from the left and moving horizontally to JPY shows the percentage change displayed represents USD (base)/JPY (estimate).
Gold: The yellow metal traded above $4,350 on Tuesday, recovering a portion of its weekly losses after falling to $4,300 on Monday. Following a record high of $4,550 earlier this week, XAU/USD declined sharply due to profit-taking as the year-end and holiday season approached.
EUR/USD was around 1.1750 at the time of writing, as markets settled down ahead of New Year holidays. Expectations are that the Federal Reserve may cut rates one to three times next year, which could help sustain prices as the year wraps up.
GBP/USD was trading at approximately 1.3470 on Tuesday, consolidating after reaching over three-month highs around 1.3530.
USD/JPY was in the 156.40 range, rebounding somewhat after the FOMC minutes were released.
AUD/USD and USD/CAD ended the day nearly unchanged.
Many financial markets are expected to close on Wednesday for New Year holidays.
