The Dollar is facing some downside risks this week – ING

The US Dollar Index (DXY) has eased back modestly over the past week after trading at its 2024 highest. Economists at ING analyze Greenback’s outlook.

A weak retail sales print may take the Dollar lower

This week, the US CPI release on Tuesday can be the new catalyst for larger positioning shifts in FX. Our economics team estimates are aligned with consensus for a 0.3% month-on-month core print, but we think the risks are skewed more towards a 0.2% than a 0.4% print. Accordingly, there are some downside risks for the Dollar, even though our base case is for a consensus print to leave few marks on the FX market.

A weak retail sales print on Thursday may revamp expectations for a May rate cut, and take the Dollar lower. That said, evidence for the jobs market and the lack of faster disinflation should still be enough to discourage aggressive Dollar selling. 

We remain comfortable with our call for some extra resilience in the Dollar in the first quarter, before a clearer downtrend emerges from the second quarter.