BNY Mellon Global Markets – Weekly Market Commentary

AT A CROSSROADS

The markets were mostly driven by the same themes of monetary policy divergence and the race to zero that has been in place since the beginning of the year. The strength of the U.S. dollar is the most obvious manifestation of this view. The DXY tacked on an additional 3.3% during March, bringing year-to-date gains for the dollar to 9%. In contrast, the fall of the Euro continued, dropping 3.6% during the month of March and almost 11% on a year-to-date basis. The trend of widespread dollar strength was also present at the end of the quarter, which saw most currencies trade lower. The few exceptions to this were some Asian currencies, along with the Russian Ruble, which was 9% better in March and is essentially flat for the year.

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