Dollar index heads for a 0.45% weekly fall as focus turns to US rate outlook and Iran worries fade
The dollar index is set for a 0.45% weekly fall, CNA reported, yet it rose on Wednesday when tech stocks sold off. The case that AI stress no longer lifts the dollar rests on one session and a conditional forecast.
Reality
- Evidence58
- Adoption
- Not scored
- Hype gap+12
- Incentives
- Not scored
- Confidence60
Trump named a three-member White House panel to decide whether there is cause to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook, with a closed hearing on Nov. 5. Quartz reported that Cook's last written reply is due Nov. 10, so the route to opening a Fed board seat now runs on a calendar.
Perspective Coverage
6 publishers
- Builder
- Builder 5%
- Operator
- Operator 37%
- Investor
- Investor 58%
Reality
- Evidence82
- Adoption
- Not scored
- Hype gap+10
- Incentives75
- Confidence78
Bitcoin fell to about $81,000 on Thursday as Brent crude rose above $105 on reports that the US may strike Iran again. Whether it holds the $82,500 support traders are watching now depends largely on Treasury yields and oil prices.
Perspective Coverage
5 publishers
- Builder
- Builder 7%
- Operator
- Operator 18%
- Investor
- Investor 75%
Reality
- Evidence66
- Adoption
- Not scored
- Hype gap+22
- Incentives38
- Confidence70
Bitcoin extended its selloff on Oct. 8, falling through the $82,180 support level to an intraday low near $80,800, CryptoSlate reported. The next cluster of liquidations that Glassnode models below that low sits near $75,000, about 7% further down.
Perspective Coverage
3 publishers
- Builder
- Builder 5%
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- Operator 17%
- Investor
- Investor 78%
Reality
- Evidence62
- Adoption
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- Hype gap+10
- Incentives
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- Confidence64
US initial jobless claims were 197,000 in the week ended Oct. 3, the fourth straight week below 200,000, Labor Department data showed. Employers are holding on to staff without adding many, so the strain falls on people already out of work while the Federal Reserve keeps raising rates.
Perspective Coverage
3 publishers
- Builder
- Builder 5%
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- Operator 40%
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- Investor 55%
Reality
- Evidence74
- Adoption
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- Hype gap+15
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- Confidence70
France's borrowing premium over Germany has widened to its highest since 2012, SCMP reported, as fiscal worries build before next year's election. Handelsbanken's FX strategist says the euro's weakness now comes partly from French politics, on top of a dollar lifted by a Fed leaning hawkish.
Reality
- Evidence62
- Adoption
- Not scored
- Hype gap+5
- Incentives
- Not scored
- Confidence60
South Korea's won rose for a fifth straight session to 1,338.5 per dollar on Oct. 8 even as foreigners sold about 2 trillion won of Korean shares. Seoul Economic Daily credits exporters converting chip-export dollars, so the rally holds only as long as that selling outweighs a firmer greenback.
Reality
- Evidence70
- Adoption
- Not scored
- Hype gap+10
- Incentives
- Not scored
- Confidence65
The Fed took its target range to 3.75-4.00% on September 16 and raised its median PCE forecast to 3.7% in the same document, so the real cost of holding a metal that pays no coupon moved by about a sixth of a point.
Perspective Coverage
14 publishers
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- Builder 3%
- Operator
- Operator 27%
- Investor
- Investor 70%
Reality
- Evidence80
- Adoption75
- Hype gap+15
- Incentives30
- Confidence75
CME's FedWatch has Wednesday's quarter point at 94.5%, up from under half a month ago, and the ten-year at 5.04% shows bond desks bought it in advance. The forecasts still diverge on what follows.
Perspective Coverage
12 publishers
- Builder
- Builder 5%
- Operator
- Operator 21%
- Investor
- Investor 74%
Reality
- Evidence62
- Adoption
- Not scored
- Hype gap+15
- Incentives40
- Confidence66
September Fed hike odds jumped 24.5 points in twenty-four hours
The Wall Street Journal reports that markets now expect an increase at next week's meeting and at least three more by June, with the effective funds rate at 3.63% inside a target range of 3.50% to 3.75%.
Reality
- Evidence25
- Adoption
- Not scored
- Hype gap+30
- Incentives55
- Confidence30
Brent above $100 props up the dollar ahead of the Fed's September minutes
Brent's return above $100 lifted the dollar index 0.3% to 102.13 on Wednesday, even as traders cut October Fed hike odds to 21.6% from about 51%. That leaves the dollar leaning on oil prices while the September minutes test how much appetite the Fed still has for hikes.
Reality
- Evidence60
- Adoption
- Not scored
- Hype gap+10
- Incentives30
- Confidence55
Privacy coins Zcash and Monero lead a flat $3 trillion crypto market
Zcash rose 3% and Monero 2.14% over 24 hours to lead the largest coins, while Bitcoin gained 0.59%. The $30.25 million that left Grayscale's Zcash ETF on Sept. 30 equals about 0.13% of Zcash's $23.18 billion market value.
Reality
- Evidence45
- Adoption25
- Hype gap+15
- Incentives
- Not scored
- Confidence40
Bitcoin rose about 44% in the third quarter, its best since 2017, as US spot ETF flows swung from about $5 billion out to $1 billion in. The price has tracked those funds more closely than bond yields, so the fourth quarter turns on whether they keep buying.
Reality
- Evidence55
- Adoption40
- Hype gap+20
- Incentives40
- Confidence55
Hassett's call for Powell to quit chases one FOMC vote on a committee that hiked unanimously
Kevin Hassett wants Jerome Powell off the Fed board, a move that would let Trump nominate someone to one of the FOMC's 12 votes. Powell voted for the September hike Hassett says he disagreed with, so the seat is worth one dissent until other voters move.
Reality
- Evidence55
- Adoption
- Not scored
- Hype gap+20
- Incentives70
- Confidence50
Bitcoin sat at $85,276 on Sunday, below the $86,000 area it hit before payrolls, even as Glassnode put October Fed hike odds at 22% from 66%. This week's fund-flow data will show whether ETF buyers are taking over from the short covering that lifted it.
Reality
- Evidence58
- Adoption
- Not scored
- Hype gap+12
- Incentives
- Not scored
- Confidence52
US employers added 29,000 jobs in September while the Bureau of Labor Statistics cut 60,000 from its July and August counts. With layoffs still falling, the data describe a hiring freeze that argues for slowing headcount plans and holding cuts in reserve.
Perspective Coverage
4 publishers
- Builder
- Builder 9%
- Operator
- Operator 40%
- Investor
- Investor 51%
Reality
- Evidence80
- Adoption
- Not scored
- Hype gap+10
- Incentives
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- Confidence75
Fed's year-end projection makes another quarter-point hike the base case for 2026 borrowing
Fed policymakers raised rates 12-0 to 3.75%-4% on Sept. 16, and 16 of 18 projected at least one more quarter-point hike this year. Long yields have since risen more than the hike itself, so borrowers have more reason to plan around that projection than around President Trump's complaint.
Reality
- Evidence60
- Adoption
- Not scored
- Hype gap+20
- Incentives45
- Confidence55
Bitcoin rose to $86,757 after August core PCE came in at 3.0% against 3.3% expected and October hold odds jumped to 74% from 35.8%. The year's sub-$1 billion ETF total understates the buying, because a strong third quarter first had to cover first-half redemptions.
Reality
- Evidence62
- Adoption48
- Hype gap+18
- Incentives58
- Confidence60
US spot Bitcoin ETFs took in $102.7 million on October 1, a tenth of September 21's $999 million, as Bitcoin neared $87,000. That leaves the Fed's October 27-28 meeting, more than the seasonal record, to decide whether fund buyers return in size.
Reality
- Evidence68
- Adoption45
- Hype gap+20
- Incentives
- Not scored
- Confidence64
Donald Trump wants Jerome Powell forced off the Fed board over a renovation audit and sued if he stays, in a seat whose term runs to January 2028. TD Cowen expects the threat to keep Powell there until at least early January 2027, so Trump gets no vacancy to fill.
Reality
- Evidence62
- Adoption
- Not scored
- Hype gap+20
- Incentives58
- Confidence60