The dollar index fell 0.5% on Thursday and continued to decline on Friday. The prolonged U.S. government shutdown has delayed the release of important economic data, prompting markets to rely on private surveys. A jobs report showed signs of weakness, boosting expectations of interest rate cuts.
ING analysts stated that the absence of official data increases uncertainty. They pointed out that futures pricing shows a nearly 70% probability of an interest rate cut in December, up from about 60% a day earlier.
Global stock declines, led by technology stocks, also boosted demand for safe havens such as gold and Treasury bonds. However, the metal’s performance has remained weak this week due to the Federal Reserve’s hawkish tone in late October, in addition to gains being limited by easing geopolitical tensions, particularly between the United States and China.
Other metals posted modest gains. Silver futures rose 0.7% to $48.26 an ounce, and platinum rose 0.6% to $1,546.30. The benchmark copper price on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.3% to $10,707.20 a tonne, while U.S. copper futures were steady at $4.98 a pound.
Data released on Friday showed Chinese exports contracted in October for the first time in 18 months, with imports weakening and the trade surplus declining.
