12.01.202209:22 Forex Analysis & Reviews: Did the Fed cause the US dollar to collapse?

The US dollar dropped after the Fed's statements about the duration of the normalization of monetary policy. During this process, the indicated currency risks losing its advantages as the main safe-haven currency.

On Wednesday, the US currency collapsed to its lowest level since November 2021. The main reason for this was the statements of Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, who allowed a gradual increase in interest rates amid the continuous high inflation in the United States. The regulator's management believes that it will take several months to make a decision to cut the central bank's balance sheet by $ 9 trillion.

In a similar situation, this currency found itself in a slight stupor state, trying to cope with the current losses. Powell's statements that the US economy "does not need aggressive monetary stimulus measures" exerted additional pressure. The central bank is ready to start normalizing monetary policy, but this process will take time. During the speech of the Fed chairman, the markets expected to find signals about the possible timing of the first rate hike. However, the situation remained unclear, as the head of the regulator stressed that the Fed did not focus on the timing of amendments to the monetary policy and did not make decisions on reducing the balance sheet.

The tension of the general background of the global financial market shocked the US dollar. On Wednesday morning, the EUR/USD pair was in the range of 1.1373-1.1374. At the same time, the Euro currency has slightly risen since the close of the previous session, in which it was trading at the level of 1.1364.

Experts believe that the key factor influencing the US dollar's dynamics is risk appetite, which currently determines its state and the market. According to analysts, the Fed's "hawkish" position affects the US dollar only if risky sentiment weakens. Against the background of risk aversion, the US dollar usually grows, and with an increase in risk appetite, it falls, which happened this week.

The fact that the US currency did not react much to Friday's US employment report surprised market participants According to current records, the US economy has nearly full employment. Experts explain the dollar's "detachment" from macro statistics by the fact that it reacts to an increase in profitability only when risk sentiment sharply decreases. The US currency rises only during a liquidity crisis when the shares of borrowed funds in the stock markets are noticeably reduced.

The main topic for market participants was the Fed's actions related to the upcoming cut of stimulus measures and an increase in interest rates. It can be recalled that the federal funds rate has been increased by 15 basis points (bp) over the past four sessions. According to preliminary forecasts, four or more Fed rate hikes are expected this year. A similar development of events is allowed if inflation accelerates.

The next steps of the regulator will be more aggressive than expected – quantitative easing (QE) or a rate hike of more than 25 bp. After the rate increase, the Fed's balance sheet will begin to shrink, which will take about two years. The regulator is expected to withdraw $ 1.5 trillion of excess liquidity from the system to keep the global financial market afloat. The current situation weakens the US dollar, which resists negativity. The US dollar is supported by the fact that the markets have considered the tightening of the Fed's policy at current prices.