Dollar dips ahead of Powell, bitcoin climbs as investors weigh Trump win
Chuck Mikolajczak

NEW YORK, July 15 (Reuters) - The dollar retreated from earlier highs on Monday ahead of comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, while cryptocurrencies rose on bets an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump has boosted his re-election chances.

In the aftermath of the shooting, investors narrowed the odds of a Trump victory. Online betting site PredictIt, opens new tab showed bets of an election win for Trump at 67 cents, up from Friday's 60 cents, with Joe Biden at 27 cents.

The dollar tends to strengthen as part of what is known as the "Trump trade" of assets likely to perform well under a Trump presidency of a hawkish trade policy and looser regulation for certain industries.

Trump has presented himself as a staunch supporter for cryptocurrency, although he has not offered specifics on his proposed crypto policy.

The dollar index , which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, fell 0.23% at 104.05 after rising as high as 104.31, with the euro up 0.09% at $1.0917. Sterling weakened 0.02% at $1.2989.

Powell is expected to speak at 12:30 p.m local time (1630 GMT), kicking off a key week of commentary from Fed officials. Earlier on Monday, Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Austan Goolsbee said interest rate cuts will soon be warranted.

Markets are currently pricing in a 94.4% chance of a rate cut of at least 25 basis points (bps) from the Fed in September, according to CME's FedWatch Tool, opens new tab, after data last week showed consumer prices fell on a monthly basis for the first time in four years in June.

Against the Japanese yen , the dollar weakened 0.01% at 157.87. The Bank of Japan (BoJ) is thought to have intervened in the market in another effort to buttress the battered Japanese currency last week after the cooler-than-expected U.S. inflation report, with data from the central bank suggesting that authorities may have spent up to 3.57 trillion yen ($22.4 billion) to do so on Thursday.p

Crypto prices jumped, with bitcoin last up roughly nearly 5% at $62,982 after reaching a two-week high of $63,273. Ether climbed nearly 6% to $3,364.20.

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As a Breaking News Markets Correspondent and Stocks Team Leader at Thomson Reuters, I have over 17 years of experience in delivering timely and accurate news and analysis on the global stock markets, covering major events, trends, and movements that affect investors, traders, and policymakers. 

 

 

 

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