• The US Dollar sticks to its pattern of the past two weeks and remains steady. 
• Traders gear up for the week’s first important data point with the US JOLTS release. 
• The US Dollar Index is unable to break away from the 200-day SMA and remains stuck in its pattern. 

The US Dollar (USD) eats into its Monday’s gains returning the Greenback to where it was on Monday morning. The US Dollar has seen safe haven inflows quickly abate in the US trading session as the US Defense department was quick to downplay any rumours on military interventions or retaliation against Iran or Houthi rebels after three US military personnel got killed in a drone attack on a US base in Jordan. The US Dollar Index could get stuck in a range trade again towards Wednesday for the US Federal Reserve’s first rate decision of 2024. 

On the economic front, a perfect appetiser before the main events on Wednesday and Friday comes in the form of the soon-to-be-released US JOLTS Job Openings. Although this is a backward looking index, with the upcoming print covering December, a lower-than-expected number could move the needle. A steep decline in the JOLTS number would point to less demand and less tightness in the job market, which in its turn means a slowdown in the economic activity, as companies would need to pay less to find the proper person for the job, which is again good for lower inflation. Lower inflation means lower rates and a weaker Dollar