US Consumer Sentiment Expected to Show Resilience Amid Elevated Price Pressures

The University of Michigan's Consumer Sentiment Index will be released on Friday, showing how US consumers feel about their finances, business conditions, and purchasing plans. Despite elevated price pressures, economists expect a moderate decline in sentiment to 54.5 from July's reading of 55.2. This would still keep the index relatively close to its levels in January and February, when concerns about Iran's war and energy shock were absent.

US consumers' confidence has been impacted by uncertainty surrounding the Middle East conflict, a deteriorating labor market, and high price pressures. The risk for the US Dollar is skewed to the downside, with a positive surprise unlikely to change the prevailing view that the Federal Reserve will keep rates steady in September.

The Fed's hesitation to raise interest rates has weighed on the Greenback, despite its safe-haven appeal amid growing uncertainty about the fate of the US-Iran peace process. The USD Index has been showing a mild upside bias over the last few days but remains below the 100 psychological level.