The U.S. dollar index (DXY00) fell to a one-week low on Monday, decreasing by 0.83% after a Bloomberg report indicated that Chinese regulators advised financial institutions to limit their U.S. Treasury holdings. This raised concerns about reduced foreign demand for U.S. dollar assets, coinciding with the Chinese yuan hitting a 2.5-year high against the dollar.
On the economic front, the Eurozone’s February Sentix investor confidence index rose by 6.0 points to a 7-month high of 4.2, surpassing expectations of 0.0. Meanwhile, U.S. dollar weakness affected the euro, which finished up 0.88%. Japanese economic indicators, including a weaker-than-expected January Eco Watchers Outlook and December real cash earnings, also influenced the market, with the Yen declining by 0.91% against the dollar.
In precious metals, April COMEX gold closed up $99.60 (+2.00%), and March COMEX silver rose $5.339 (+6.94%) as the dollar’s decline spurred safe-haven demand. In January, China’s PBOC reserves increased by 40,000 ounces to 74.19 million troy ounces, marking the fifteenth consecutive month of growth.
