(Jan 05): A Bloomberg gauge of the dollar rose to the strongest level in two weeks after the US move to oust Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro sparked an increase in geopolitical risks.
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index advanced as much as 0.3% to reach the highest since Dec 22. Benchmark Treasury yields slipped one basis point while the euro dropped 0.3% and the Mexican peso slid 0.7%.
Traders are gravitating to the greenback as questions swirl about what’s next for Venezuela after the US captured Maduro and US President Donald Trump said Washington plans to “run” the South American country. A raft of US reports due this week including inflation figures and non-farm payrolls data is also expected to shape the dollar’s trajectory.
“Developments in Venezuela point to a relatively quick closure rather than a prolonged military conflict,” said Christopher Wong, an analyst at Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. in Singapore. “While the episode preserves the bid for precious metals, for the USD, data plays a key role this week, given a heavy flow of labour- and survey-related prints.”
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