USD Overview (29 July 2020)

Yesterday, USD weakened against most major currencies except EUR, NZD and CAD.

The CB Consumer Confidence data (Actual: 92.6, Forecast: 94.0, Previous: 98.3 revised from 98.1) released yesterday indicated that consumers are less optimistic about the short-term outlook for the economy mainly due to the resurgence of COVID-19 cases in several states.

The Federal Reserve Board made an unscheduled announcement yesterday on an extension of its over $2 trillion lending programs through 31 December that were initially scheduled to expire around 30 September, saying that the extension will aid in the recovery of the economy from the pandemic.

The Federal Reserve will be announcing their interest rate decision tomorrow at 0200 ( SGT ) and a press conference will follow at 0230 ( SGT ). It is unlikely that the central bank will be making any changes to its monetary policy at the moment. The first point to take note during the announcement and press conference will be the central bank’s address to the extension of its lending program. While the second point to take note is the central bank’s view on the recent resurgence of COVID-19 in the U.S. and how they plan to further assist the economy.

The Pending Home Sales m/m data (Forecast: 15.6%, Previous: 44.3%) will be released later at 2200 ( SGT ).