The US dollar rose slightly by 0.06% today, mainly supported by the weakness of the Japanese yen. Federal Reserve official Waller made dovish remarks yesterday, stating support for a rate cut in December, which directly applied the brakes to the dollar. Additionally, with the stock market rebounding, the demand for the dollar as a safe haven has also decreased.

EUR/USD rose 0.08%, and the improving outlook for peace in Ukraine has become crucial—NATO Secretary General stated that Russia is now in a difficult situation and has made no significant progress. However, Germany's November IFO Business Climate Index fell short of expectations (88.1 vs expected 88.5), which is somewhat of a dampener.

The Japanese yen is under the most pressure, with the USD/JPY rising by 0.38%. The Japanese government just approved a stimulus plan worth 17.7 trillion yen last week, but the decline in long-term bond yields has somewhat eased the drop. The market currently assigns a 23% probability to the Bank of Japan raising interest rates by 25 basis points on December 19.

Both gold and silver are rising: Waller's dovish comments have boosted the safe-haven demand for precious metals. December COMEX gold rose by 0.21%, while silver increased by 0.19%. However, the warming expectations for peace in Ukraine have reduced safe-haven purchases. Central banks are still hoarding gold madly—China's central bank increased its gold reserves for 12 consecutive months in October to 74.09 million ounces, and global central banks bought 220 tons of gold in Q3 (a 28% increase month-on-month).