Dollar Steady as Warsh Speech and NFP Revisions Loom
The US Dollar (USD) held steady above 99.00 on Friday, August 28th, as investors awaited Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh's speech at the Jackson Hole Symposium and the release of the Bureau of Labor Statistics' preliminary benchmark revision to Nonfarm Payrolls data.
US policymakers spoke throughout the American session, with Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack delivering a hawkish message. She emphasized that now is time to act given persistence of inflation and that current policy is not providing sufficient restriction. This underscores her push for tighter policy to re-anchor expectations and resist rate cuts, which typically supports the Dollar on a relative policy-differential basis.
The FXS Fed Sentiment Index rose by 0.51 points to 131.55, reinforcing the overall hawkish tone well above the neutral line. Analysts at ING caution that any surprises in the Nonfarm Payrolls revision could be noteworthy for markets and expect Warsh to avoid upsetting the bond market today.