NEW YORK—The Federal Reserve and U.S. Treasury did not intervene in foreign exchange markets during the October – December 2019 quarter, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said today in its quarterly report to the U.S. Congress.
The U.S. dollar, as measured by the Federal Reserve Board's broad trade-weighted dollar index, depreciated 2.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2019 as improved risk sentiment across global financial markets supported foreign currencies. The main factors behind the depreciation were easing trade tensions between the U.S. and China, a reduction in near-term Brexit-related risks, and improved global economic data. In addition, Federal Reserve policy expectations were little changed over the quarter, while expectations for other major central banks shifted away from further monetary policy easing. Among major currencies, the dollar depreciated 7.3 percent against the British pound, 4.1 percent against the Mexican peso, 2.8 percent against the euro, 2.6 percent against the Chinese renminbi, and 1.9 percent against the Canadian dollar. It appreciated 0.5 percent against the Japanese yen.
The report was presented by Lorie Logan, executive vice president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the Federal Open Market Committee’s manager for the System Open Market Account, on behalf of the Treasury and the Federal Reserve System.
The full report is available on the New York Fed's website.
