US Dollar consolidates gains below 100.50

Fueled by the upsurge seen in the U.S. Treasury yields in the NA session, the US Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six trade-weighted peers, hit session highs at 100.50 before easing back to 100.35/40 area. At the moment, the index is up 0.3% on the day at 100.37.

U.S. 10-year Treasury bond yield jumped to 2.27% following the University of Michigan survey, which showed that the U.S. consumer sentiment unexpectedly improved to 98 in April from 96.9 in March. However, the yield started to retreat back towards the five-month low recorded earlier, not allowing the US Dollar Index to extend the rise.

• US: Consumer sentiment inched upward in early April - UoM
• US PPI: Down in March as energy recovery pauses - Wells Fargo

The greenback suffered heavy losses against its rivals on Wednesday after President Trump told the Wall Street Journal the greenback was getting too strong and he was favoring a low-interest policy. An empty economic docket is unlikely to provide any fresh impetus for the greenback for the remainder of the day.

Technical outlook

The immediate hurdle for the pair is located at 100.50 (daily high) before 100.75 (Apr. 12 high) and 101 (psychological level). To the downside, supports align at 100 (psychological level/Apr. 12 low), 99.50 (Mar. 23 low) and 99 (Mar. 28 low).