The US Dollar was broadly higher on Monday after the US Senate approved legislation to overhaul the controversial US tax reform code. With the exception of a single vote, all Republican members voted in favor of the legislation which includes significant rate cuts for corporations and high-income tax payers. Analysts say that gains on the Dollar were limited, however, on uncertainty as to whether US interest rates would also rise as a consequence of the tax plan. This vote was the first major victory for the President and came with a great deal of anger from the opposition, not to mention a majority of interest groups and US tax payers who could be harmed by the reforms.
As reported at 10:48 am (GMT) in London, the EUR/USD was trading lower at $1.1846, down 0.43%, moving off the session low of $1.18350. The GBP/USD was down 0.30% at $1.3427, not far from the session trough of $1.3418.
Ahead for the Greenback This Week
The next step for the US Congress in the process is to reconcile the Senate’s version of the bill with the House’s which was previously approved. Those talks are likely to begin later this week. Dollar watchers will also be keen for this Friday’s release of private sector jobs data which, if upbeat, could help to quicken the arrival of the next interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve Bank. Currently, analysts are calling for a decline to 198,000 new jobs in November, well off the 261,000 reported for October.
