After the government has indicated it’s ready to start defending the dollar, recent sentiment is pointing toward bullish, and some exchange traded funds (ETFs) give investors the chance to jump in.
The dollar continued its climb today, sending oil prices lower, reports John Wilen for the Associated Press. The weak dollar is a major reason the price of oil is so high, because it makes it less expensive to investors overseas.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke indicated earlier this week that they’re done cutting interest rates and, if anything, might start hiking them up again. This bodes well for the dollar. Bernanke’s remarks were unusual, because he had been letting Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson answer questions about our currency, says Colin Barr for Fortune.
After his comments, the dollar rallied and indicated the the markets believe the Fed is up to the task.
It’s high time our dollar saw some kind of turnaround. Since September 2007, it lost 11.6% against the euro and 7.3% against the yen, report Bo Nielsen and Ye Xie for Bloomberg.
Analysts think that more than words are going to be needed to truly turn the tide on the dollar, and think an interest rate increase could send the dollar definitively higher.
Before diving in to these ETFs, though, wait until they’re on solid footing and have crossed above their trend lines.
There are an increasing number of ways to capture exposure to a rising dollar, including:
- Market Vectors Double Short Euro (DRR), launched May 22
- PowerShares DB US Dollar Index Bullish (UUP), down 3.9% year-to-date
The dollar vs. the yen and euro in the last year:
