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The dollar index rose by 0.22% on Tuesday, reaching a 5-week high, supported by a recent EU-US trade deal favoring the U.S. and expectations that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates unchanged after its FOMC meeting. The advance goods trade deficit unexpectedly shrank to -$86.0 billion in June, better than the anticipated -$98.0 billion, while the July consumer confidence index increased to 97.2, surpassing expectations of 96.0.
However, the June JOLTS job openings report showed a decline of 275,000 to 7.437 million, below the expected 7.500 million, which affected Fed policy outlook and limited dollar gains. Meanwhile, the euro fell 0.28% due to the perceived negative impact of increased tariffs from the trade deal and eased inflation expectations from the ECB, which decreased from 2.8% in May to 2.6% in June.
In the precious metals market, August gold closed up 0.42% and September silver up 0.17%, mainly due to a decline in T-note yields and continued geopolitical risks. ETF holdings in gold reached a two-year high last Friday, while silver holdings reached a three-year high on Monday.
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