The US dollar had a muted start to the week, with little economic activity to affect the currency’s strength. The dollar lost a little ground against both sterling and the euro, as data from stateside was thin on the ground. Some personal spending figures had little impact, while the pending home sales was slightly behind estimates to leave the dollar struggling to continue its recent run of gains.

Today sees activity increase, with the Chicago Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) starting off, ahead of the consumer confidence figure later in the afternoon. Given the recent talk of interest rate rises, and the rhetoric that this decision will be data-led, investors will be keen to hear about positive figures in these areas in order for the currency to gain a foothold on the week and continue on its strengthening trend.

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The US dollar saw a confident end to the week, strengthening further against the majority of its major partners. The final quarterly growth figures were released, showing that growth stateside has increased faster than a previous estimate. As a result, there was further speculation over interest rate increases in the US, as positive data continues to add pressure for the US Federal Reserve to raise rates. Recent words from central bank members have been cautious, but guidance provided states that the decision will be data driven.

Moving on to this week, there are some minor spending figures are due today, alongside pending home sales.

The dollar started the week in mildly disappointing fashion, as a lack of data gave it little opportunity for encouragement. The currency also suffered as words from members of the US Federal Reserve were pessimistic over interest rate rises, causing the dollar to fall. Hopes of any rate hikes coming sooner rather than later were dampened, with William Dudley saying that the current inflation levels gave pause for patience. Alongside this sentiment, the housing market showed consecutive disappointing figures to further add to the dollar’s struggles. Fortunes were reversed mid-week, however, thanks to the significant release of the day. The new home sales data came out much better than expected, with a strong increase from the month before.

The US dollar had a largely positive day, driven mostly by a single data release beating its expectations. The dollar managed to rise to a 14 month high against the euro, thanks to the new home sales figure from stateside being much better than expected, showing a strong increase from last month. As such, investors gained further encouragement that interest rates could rise sooner than expected.

Today holds a number of further crucial figures, which could help continue this trend. The durable goods orders are due, alongside the ever-important unemployment claims. With the recent suggestion that interest rate rises will be data driven, strong economic figures could help the dollar along, with the labour market in particular routinely at the forefront of investors’ minds.

The US dollar stumbled somewhat yesterday, as optimism over interest rate rises was dampened further. For the second consecutive day the housing market stateside showed disappointing results, as the price of houses rose less than was forecast in July. As another sign that the economic recovery is not as “firm footed” as it had seemed, bets that the Federal Reserve would act sooner rather than later to increase interest rates were reduced. From a wider view, the news that the US had started airstrikes in Syria drove some investors away from the dollar to the safer haven of the Japanese yen.