Market commentary
- In June, the dollar staged a rebound, recouping much of the loss accumulated earlier in the quarter. Inflation concerns were largely ignored as stocks continued to rally and U.S. Treasury yields fell. Faster economic reopening in the U.S. versus most other countries boosted USD. The ICE U.S. Dollar Index® (USDX®) started the month below 90 at 89.79 but climbed steadily until mid-month. The second half of June saw the index spike higher, rising above 92 and holding there, closing out at 92.43, the highest in the month.
- European currencies tested their 2021 highs early in the month but quickly slid lower as renewed COVID-19 concerns moved to the forefront and inflation expectations rose. EUR declined by almost 4 cents in June, falling from $1.2250 to $1.1850 even though most equity markets in the Eurozone hit all-time highs. Ongoing post-Brexit issues with the EU helped push sterling lower as well. GBP began June at its 2021 high of $1.4250 but fell over 4 cents during the month, closing at $1.3825. Elsewhere on the Continent, CHF also weakened, falling to 0.925 per dollar as the country made slow progress against COVID-19. Scandinavian currencies performed similarly to the Swiss Franc, with SEK, NOK and DKK all about 2% lower against the dollar. The ruble posted a small gain against USD, as the Russian central bank talked about raising rates sooner rather than later. RUB closed out June at 73.14 per dollar.
- The story in the Asia-Pacific region was the continued fall of the JPY against the dollar. Yen lost about 1½% in June, ending the month at 111.08, the low for the year. In 2021, JPY is down over 8% versus USD, one of the worst performances versus the dollar. CNY lost about 2% on the month, closing at 6.465 per dollar. The yuan is close to unchanged for the year. AUD and NZD were down 1 and 2 cents, respectively, in June, with Kiwi closing below 70 U.S. cents for the first time since March. THB continued to be impacted by COVID-19; the baht closed below 32, the first monthly close below that level since April 2020. The improving COVID-19 situation in India didn’t help INR, which fell 2 rupees to 74.50 on the month.
- Elsewhere, CAD abruptly ended its 2021 climb, posting its first negative month this year. Here too, COVID-19 concerns and mixed commodity prices (higher oil, much lower lumber) outweighed potentially higher rates from the Bank of Canada. The loonie declined to 1.24 per dollar, down about 3% on the month. BRL rose above 5 per dollar near the end of June, the first time since March 2020. Despite higher oil, MXN ended the month almost unchanged, even though it experienced significant price volatility during the month. TRY sank to new all-time lows, briefly touching 8.80 per dollar before ending the month at 8.70. ZAR rose to a 2½ year high early in June, but then fell 6% from the highs to close at 14.45 per dollar.
USDX® Performance
| Spot rates | TICKER | 1-Jun-21 | 30-Jun-21 | Monthly Change |
| USD/EUR | EUR A0-FX | 1.20626 | 1.22245 | 3.020% |
| JPY/USD | JPY A0-FX | 109.055 | 109.563 | -1.456% |
| USD/GBP | GBP A0-FX | 1.3908 | 1.4205 | 2.336% |
| CAD/USD | CAD A0-FX | 1.22759 | 1.20654 | 2.616%v |
| SEK/USD | SEK A0-FX | 8.4081 | 8.28644 | 3.186% |
| CHF/USD | CHF A0-FX | 0.91056 | 0.89882 | 2.973% |
| US Dollar Index | DX A0 | 90.945 | 89.832 | 2.818% |
| Other contracts | TICKER | 1-Jun-21 | 30-Jun-21 | Monthly Change |
| Mini Brent Crude | BM-ICS | 70.25 | 74.76 | 6.033% |
| MSCI World Index | MWL | 2977.7 | 3012.5 | 1.155% |
| MSCI Emerging Markets Index | MME | 1389.4 | 1364.8 | -1.802% |
| Mini US Dollar/Offshore Renminbi | CHM-ICS | 6.3795 | 6.4726 | -1.438% |
USDX® Futures Performance (YTD)
Manage $USD risk in a single transaction
USDX® futures and options offer investors tools to speculate on moves in the $USD relative to a basket of world currencies.
| USDX® Futures | Mini USDX® Futures | USDX® Options | |
| Trade on | ICE Futures U.S. | ICE Futures Singapore | ICE Futures U.S. |
| Contract size | One contract = $1000 X index value | One contract = US $200 x index value | One futures contract ($1000 X Index value) |
| Expiry | Third Wednesday of the expiration month | Cash-settled against USDX® Futures on the last Trading Day for the expiry month | Third Wednesday of the expiration month |
| Settlement | Physically settled against the six component currencies in their respective percentage weights | Cash-settled against the USDX® futures final settlement price | Physically settled against the six component currencies in their respective percentage weights |
| Trading hours | 8:00 P.M. - 5.00 P.M. ET | 8:00 A.M. - 6.00 A.M. SGT | 8:00 P.M. - 5.00 P.M. ET |
| Symbol | DX | SDX | DX |
| Product spec | View now » | View now » | View now » |