Welcome to Markets Desk, your midday read on what's moving markets and the stories behind them.
The dollar is pushing to a one-and-a-half-week high against major currencies, with the dollar index logging its third straight session of gains. The move is being driven by positioning ahead of the Federal Reserve's two-day meeting, which kicks off today, with traders anticipating Fed Chair Warsh will strike a notably hawkish tone on the path of future rate hikes.
Shifting to geopolitics and sovereign finance, the European Commission is sounding the alarm over a sharp drop in international support for Ukraine. Non-EU partners have pledged just four billion euros in aid for Kyiv next year, a dramatic fall from nineteen billion in two thousand twenty six. Brussels is now actively pressuring allies to close that gap before the funding crunch becomes a crisis.
And in agricultural markets, soybeans are catching a modest bid this morning, bouncing three to eight and a half cents after a rough Monday session that saw contracts drop as much as sixteen cents across the board. The selloff followed weekend elections in Brazil, and open interest fell sharply, signaling that long-side traders were heading for the exits.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
