United States of America data pulls US Dollar lower

The US data on Monday added to the narrative that the Federal Reserve is near the end of its rate-hike cycle. March Manufacturing ISM dropped 1.4pts in March to 46.3, its lowest reading since May 2020. ´´A weakening trend has been in place since May last year (56.1), but recent banking turmoil may have dented confidence further,´´ analysts at ANZ Bank said. 

´New orders fell to 44.3 vs 47.0. Manufacturing is one of the most rate-sensitive sectors of the economy as goods like autos are primarily bought on credit. There continues to be encouraging news on goods inflation. Supplier delivery times fell 0.4 to 44.8, its lowest level since March 2009, and the prices sub-index fell 2.1pts to 49.2.´´

Federal funds futures are now pricing in a 60% chance of another 25 basis-point (bp) rate hike by the Fed in May, down around 5% on the back of today´s manufacturing data. Moreover, futures traders have also factored in a pause in June and rate cuts by December. Traders will now await the Services data tomorrow. ´´We look for the ISM Services index to retreat after showing signs of stabilization at a still-firm level of ~55 in Jan-Feb,´´ analysts at TD Securities said. 

The US Dollar moved down to test below 102 the figure, DXY, while the US 10-year note was down 3.9 basis points to 3.432%. The two-year note was down 2.1 basis points to 4.007%.