Welcome to Markets Desk, your midday read on what's moving markets and why.
The dollar is pressing higher, notching a thirteen-month high on the dollar index after the Fed's hawkish posture last week continued to ripple through currency markets. Traders are pricing in the possibility of rates staying elevated longer, and that's putting real pressure on gold and risk assets broadly.
Flowing directly from that dollar strength, crude oil took a serious hit Wednesday, with August West Texas Intermediate closing down nearly four percent to a three-and-a-half-month low. The stronger dollar made dollar-denominated oil more expensive for foreign buyers, and accelerating Persian Gulf supply flows added further weight, leaving crude with little room to find a floor.
Meanwhile, not everything in the energy complex was selling off. Natural gas bucked the trend, closing up more than two percent on the July Nymex contract after weather forecasters shifted their outlooks toward hotter-than-average temperatures across much of the country. Power generators ramping up to meet air-conditioning demand are expected to drive a meaningful lift in consumption over the coming weeks.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
