After the European Central Bank’s monetary policy bombshell, many foreign central banks have enacted their own easing or are cogitating about potential cuts ahead, bolstering the outlook for the U.S. dollar and currency-related exchange traded funds.
The PowerShares DB U.S. Dollar Index Bullish Fund (NYSEArca: UUP) and the actively managed WisdomTree Bloomberg U.S. Dollar Bullish Fund (NYSEArca: USDU) are among the better performing currency ETFs so far this year, rising 4.6% and 2.3% year-to-date, respectively. [King Dollar ETFs are Quite Royal in January]
UUP tracks the dollar movement against a basket of developed market currencines, including the euro, Japanese yen, British pound, Canadian dollar, Swedish krona and Swiss franc. USDU, on the other hand, tracks a broader basket, including the euro, yen, Canadian dollar, Mexican peso, pound, Australian dollar, franc, South Korean won, Chinese renminbi and Brazilian real.
Fueling the appreciating greenback, an ongoing currency war among international central banks has caused many foreign currencies to depreciate. For instance, the Monetary Authority of Singapore unexpectedly announced monetary easing Tuesday. [Singapore ETF: Central Bank Unscheduled Cut Hints at Concerns]
New Zealand’s Reserve Bank stated that it expects to see “further significant depreciation” for the kiwi and that “the exchange rate remains unjustified in terms of current economic conditions,” hinting at potential rate changes in the future, reports Sara Eisen for CNBC.
Hungary’s central bank has also taken on a dovish stance and hinted a potential monetary easing as well.
Denmark’s Nationalbanken cut its deposit rate to negative 0.5% from minus 0.35% Thursday, its third reduction in less than two weeks, the Wall Street Journal reports.