US Dollar Index Remains Soft as Traders Await Data

US dollar index remains soft right now as traders await retail sales data, expected to be released later this week. Traders are waiting to see if the US economic recovery is truly strong enough to support the idea of a taper from the Federal Reserve. For now, it’s mostly rangebound trading and a wait and see approach.

While better than expected US data gave the greenback a bit of a boost last week, this week things have calmed down a bit. US dollar is softer against many of its counterparts, with the dollar index lower today.
Many Forex traders are waiting to see the retail sales data, which will be released on Thursday, for a better idea of economic recovery. Additionally, many are waiting for the final Federal Reserve meeting of the year, which will take place December 17 and 18. Ben Bernanke will be going out as Chair, while Janet Yellen takes his place.
And there might be indications that the Fed really is ready to taper its asset purchase program. If this turns out to be the case, the greenback could strengthen.
At 15:51 GMT US dollar index is down to 80.2060 from the open at 80.2570. EUR/USD is up to 1.3723 from the open at 1.3715. GBP/USD is up to 1.6393 from the open at 1.6343.

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