Overview
- The dollar index fell roughly 0.5% to about 99.67 in early Asia before stabilizing, with Fed funds futures pricing a roughly 65%–70% chance of a December 10 rate cut, according to CME FedWatch.
- Fed Chair Jerome Powell previously cautioned that a December move is not assured, while Austan Goolsbee and Philip Jefferson urged a slow approach in the absence of full data.
- Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported more than 150,000 October job cuts, the largest for that month in over two decades, prompting a broad reevaluation of the U.S. outlook.
- The Canadian dollar rebounded from a near seven-month low around 1.4140 USD/CAD after the layoff data pressured the greenback, though earlier weakness tracked a breach of resistance and softer oil near the high-$50s.
- The Indian rupee firmed to about 88.60 on Thursday then hovered near 88.65–88.69 on Friday as foreign outflows and a steadier dollar weighed, with state-run bank dollar sales linked to RBI support helping keep USD/INR below the 88.80 record high.