US dollar index slides to five week low, Donald Trumps demand reduction in interest rates

The US dollar index slumped today as markets eyed US labor market developments and also kept focus on the near term interest rate outlook. US President Donald Trump stated yesterday that he demanded that interest rates should be dropped immediately. This took a toll on the US dollar index as it continued to fall from around two year high. Meanwhile, the US Labor Department released a report on Thursday showing initial jobless claims saw further upside in the week ended January 18th. The Labor Department said initial jobless claims rose to 223,000, an increase of 6,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 217,000. With the increase, jobless claims continued to regain ground after hitting a nearly eleven-month low in the week ended January 4th. The report said the less volatile four-week moving average also crept up to 213,500, an increase of 750 from the previous week's unrevised average of 212,750. Continuing claims, a reading on the number of people receiving ongoing unemployment assistance, also climbed by 46,000 to 1.899 million in the week ended January 11th, reaching the highest level since November 2021. Dollar index slumped following this and is currently hovering around five week low at 107.43, down 0.35% on the day.

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