The US Dollar Index rose 0.39% today, reaching a new high in 1.5 weeks, mainly due to the sharp fall of the yen. The Japanese government is considering a stimulus plan of 20 trillion yen (compared to last year's 13.9 trillion), along with indications from Bank of Japan officials that there will be no interest rate hikes before March, which has directly weakened the yen.

The U.S. trade deficit narrowed to $59.6 billion in August (from $78.2 billion in July), which also supports the dollar. The market's expectations for a rate cut by the Federal Reserve in December have fallen from 70% to 48%, and this wave of hawkish remarks is really impactful.

The euro against the US dollar fell by 0.23%, reaching a weekly low, as the US dollar strengthened. Precious metals, on the other hand, performed well—gold +1.55%, silver +3.03%, recovering last week's losses. The Japanese Central Bank's signals of not raising interest rates boosted gold's safe-haven demand, but the strengthening US dollar and decreasing expectations for rate cuts are holding it back.