Dollar steadies ahead of Powell speech

The dollar index hovered around 99.3 on Tuesday, showing little direction as investors awaited remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell later in the session.

His speech comes amid a prolonged US government shutdown that has limited the release of key economic data, prompting markets to look toward upcoming bank earnings for signals on the economy’s health.

The Fed is widely expected to deliver another quarter-point rate cut this month following a similar move in September, with another reduction anticipated in December.

Meanwhile, investors continued to track fast-evolving US-China trade developments ahead of a potential Trump-Xi meeting in South Korea later this month.

In the latest escalation, China imposed restrictions on five US units of Hanwha Ocean in response to Washington’s probes into Chinese maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding sectors.