The U.S. dollar and related currency exchange traded funds jumped Tuesday as traders ramped up bets ahead of the Federal Reserve’s eventual rate hikes in response to improved U.S. economic data.
The PowerShares DB U.S. Dollar Index Bullish Fund (NYSEArca: UUP), which tracks the price movement of the U.S. dollar against a basket of currencies, including the euro, Japanese yen, British pound, Canadian dollar, Swedish krona and Swiss franc, rose 0.4% Tuesday. UUP is up 2.3% year-to-date. [ETF Chart of the Day: Dollar Darlings]
Alternatively, an actively managed option, WisdomTree Bloomberg U.S. Dollar Bullish Fund (NYSEArca: USDU), which currently tracks the USD against the euro, yen, Canadian dollar, U.K. sterling, Mexican peso, Australia dollar, franc, South Korean won, Chinese yuan and Brazilian real, was 0.6% higher Tuesday. USDU is down 0.1% year-to-date.
For the more aggressive trader, the PowerShares DB 3x Long US Dollar Index Futures ETN (NYSEArca: UUPT) provides a leveraged 300% bullish monthly return to the U.S. dollar futures index. UUPT jumped 2.5% Tuesday and increased 5.6% year-to-date. [U.S. Dollar ETFs’ Moment to Shine]
Lifting the U.S. dollar, new data revealed that U.S. consumer confidence is on the rise, labor markets are strengthening and the manufacturing sector unexpectedly advanced to its highest level since March 2011, the Wall Street Journal reports.
The USD appreciated against a basket of major currencies. The dollar surged 0.7% against the Japanese yen to ¥105.12, pushing the JPY to its weakest level of 2014. The British pound plunged 0.7% to $1.649 against the greenback. Additionally, the euro fell to $1.313, its lowest against the USD in almost a year.
“What we’re seeing now is U.S. data is really starting to line up with expectations that the U.S. economy is going to outperform” other major economies, Mark McCormick, a foreign exchange strategist with Credit Agricole, said in the article.