The U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) fell to a three-month low on Monday after new economic reports showed a sudden drop in American employment. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that nonfarm payrolls fell by 23,000 in July, while earlier data for May and June saw a total downward revision of 103,000 jobs. The national unemployment rate reached 4.1%.
Consumer spending slowed as retail sales fell 0.6% in July. Annual consumer price growth cooled to 3.4%, with core inflation reaching 2.5%. These weak numbers led traders to cut expectations for a September rate hike down to 30%, pulling down the dollar spot index for a third straight trading session.
Gold Surges While Bitcoin Trading Volume Remains Low
A weak dollar typically supports alternative store-of-value assets, but Bitcoin (BTC-USD) did not follow the broader market trend. Gold prices (CM:XAUUSD) rose to $4,407 per ounce, completing a 9.3% gain over the past month. Over that same period, Bitcoin lost 0.5% of its value and rose 1.9% on the day to trade near $64,038.
Trading activity across digital asset platforms stayed quiet. Bitcoin logged $12.6 billion in daily trading volume, representing less than 1% of its total market cap. Investors chose precious metals over crypto tokens following the recent inflation and jobs reports.
FOMC Minutes to Show Split Vote Among Policy Leaders
Markets are now focusing on Wednesday’s release of the July Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting minutes. While the Federal Reserve voted to keep key interest rates unchanged at 3.50% to 3.75%, three committee members voted to raise rates by a quarter point.
Dissenting votes came from regional Fed presidents Beth Hammack, Neel Kashkari, and Lorie Logan. The upcoming meeting minutes will clarify how close the central bank came to raising rates. Global purchasing managers’ index (PMI) data arriving Friday will offer more clues on the dollar’s direction.
