Chart Of The Day: The U.S. Dollar's Uptrend Is Confirmed

 | Nov 13, 2018 02:01

Since the start of today's trade, the US dollar has been vaulting higher. It was jump-started by Friday’s hotter than expected Producer Price Index release.

The metric was forecast to come in with 2% gain, but surprised instead, leaping to 0.6 percent, more than double the expectation and the fastest pace in six years. It rose on higher gas prices and escalating costs for industrial supplies critical for business.

Consumer inflation, the other side of the picture, will be released Wednesday morning in the US. Headline CPI probably rebounded in October after easing in September. The consumer price inflation data is projected to show a 0.3 percent increase for the prior month and 2.5 percent for the prior year. Core CPI is forecast to rise 0.2 percent from 0.1 percent MoM.

Rising inflation confirms the Fed's trajectory for higher interest rates. On Thursday, during its FOMC statement, the Fed acknowledged the strength of consumer spending, since it boosted the economy to its strongest back-to-back quarters of growth in four years, when the US GDP climbed to an annualized rate of 3.5 percent. It is noteworthy that this landmark occurred during a US-Sino trade war, a time when China's economy has been shrinking.

Since the greenback's yield is the US interest rate, the higher that gets, the greater the value of the dollar. Beginning in March, when the trade dispute first dominated headlines, the dollar has also served as the safe haven currency of choice.

As such, that market risk will arguably not slow down the US currency either. Thus, right now, the only headwind to the dollar's ascent would be a sharp correction in equity markets. Should that happen, traders would sell off all risk assets, including the dollar.