Dollar hits two-week high as US data beats and Fed decision nears

The dollar climbed to a two-week high late Tuesday, a day ahead of the Federal Reserve's rate decision, Investing.com reports. A run of US data that mostly beat forecasts gave it support, while the euro stayed under pressure from French worries.

Since our last update, the US calendar filled in. Durable goods, new home sales and house prices all came in above estimates. The question now is whether the Fed's message matches the firmer tone of the data.

What moved and why

According to the investingLive Americas wrap, tech stocks rallied on Tuesday. That backdrop did not stop the dollar from extending its gains. Investing.com notes that the euro slipped again on French worries, the theme we covered earlier this week.

The bond market sent a different signal. US Treasury yields hovered near multi-week lows ahead of the Fed, Investing.com reports. So the dollar's rise came without help from higher yields.

You can follow the dollar index on TradingView.

The majors

The table shows ECB reference rates from the fixing of 27 October, compared with the 26 October fixing. These are official daily fixings, not live quotes.

The euro's fixing has fallen on every day since 21 October, when it stood at 1.1234. It is down 0.58% from five fixings ago. Our sister site explains the drivers in a guide to the euro fixing and French consumer confidence. The dollar also firmed against the yen and the Swiss franc. The Australian and New Zealand dollars bucked the trend and edged higher. EUR/USD chart on TradingView.

US data in the news

investingLive tracked a busy day of releases:

• Durable goods: September orders rose 1.8% against 1.7% expected, per investingLive. The core detail was softer. Ex-transport orders rose 0.5% against 0.6% expected, and non-defense capital goods ex-air rose 0.5% against 0.7%.
• New home sales: September sales were 0.676 million annualized against a 0.650 million estimate, investingLive reports. The prior month was revised to 0.680 million.
• House prices: The August Case-Shiller 20-city index rose 2.7% year on year against 2.6% expected, according to investingLive, which noted mortgage rates at 7.5%. The FHFA index rose 0.3% on the month, though annual growth slowed to 2.4%.
• Richmond Fed: The October manufacturing index was -2, as expected, per investingLive. Prices received rose to 5.27 from 4.19, while new orders fell to -8 from -6.

Consumer confidence, at 91.7 against 81.0 expected, was covered in our previous recap.

Central banks and other news

The ECB published its October 2026 euro area bank lending survey on 27 October. A day earlier, its survey on firms' access to finance said lending conditions had tightened.

In credit markets, S&P sees global bond issuance growth slowing to 2.7% in 2027, the weakest in five years, investingLive reports.

In the UK, the pound dipped on the firm dollar as the Fed decision and the budget loom, Investing.com reports.

What to watch next

1. Federal Reserve decision: Investing.com describes it as due a day after the dollar's two-week high. The reaction in EUR/USD and USD/JPY will show how much of the dollar's gain was positioning.
2. Bank of Canada decision: The Canadian dollar slipped as investors awaited both the BoC and the Fed, Investing.com reports.
3. UK budget: Investing.com flags it as a looming risk for sterling.