Overview
- Fed funds futures put the probability of a December 10 U.S. rate cut near 65%–70%, despite Jerome Powell’s warning that another move is not assured and Austan Goolsbee’s call for caution.
- Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported more than 150,000 announced layoffs in October, the largest October total in over 20 years, pressuring the greenback.
- The Canadian dollar steadied near 1.411 per U.S. dollar after USD/CAD briefly touched around 1.4140 this week, with weaker oil prices continuing to weigh on the loonie.
- The Indian rupee hovered around 88.60–88.70 as dollar sales by state-run banks, seen as RBI-linked, helped defend the 88.80 record closing low, while FII outflows and crude swings constrained any rebound.
- The Bank of England kept rates unchanged in a narrow 5–4 decision with several dissenters favoring a cut, reinforcing global policy uncertainty as the dollar’s earlier strength faded.