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US Dollar Nears Two-Year Low as Fed Rate-Cut Bets and Trade Tensions Weigh

Traders are piling into dollar put options following forecasts of a 9% slide over the next year.

Stacks of one hundred dollar notes are piled up for counting at the headquarters of the Korea Exchange Bank in Seoul February 3, 2009. REUTERS/Jo Yong-Hak//File Photo
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Overview

  • The U.S. Dollar Index has declined over 10% since mid-January and is approaching its weakest level since 2023 on growing Federal Reserve rate-cut expectations
  • Morgan Stanley forecasts the index will fall 9% to around 91 in the next 12 months, matching pandemic-era lows, and JPMorgan Chase maintains bearish calls on the greenback
  • FX options flows reveal elevated demand for dollar put options, with put volumes comprising nearly 60% of FX trades as investors brace for further losses
  • Goldman Sachs strategists estimate the dollar is roughly 15% overvalued and predict additional declines driven by global asset reallocation
  • Alternative currencies are gaining ground, with the euro near $1.145 and projected to reach $1.25 by mid-2026 and similar strength expected for the yen and sterling