FX.co ★ Dollar Steadies Ahead of Powell Speech

On Tuesday, the dollar index remained around 99.3, showing minimal changes as investors anticipated Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's upcoming remarks. His address is set amidst an extended shutdown of the US government, which has curtailed the dissemination of crucial economic data. Consequently, market participants are focusing on forthcoming bank earnings for insights into the economic condition. The Federal Reserve is anticipated to implement another quarter-point rate cut this month, following a similar reduction in September, with an additional cut forecasted for December. Simultaneously, investors are closely monitoring the rapidly changing US-China trade relations in light of the possible Trump-Xi meeting in South Korea later this month. Recently, in a further escalation, China imposed restrictions on five US units of Hanwha Ocean as a countermeasure to Washington's investigations into Chinese maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding industries.