Amid light news, the US dollar’s recent gains have pared slightly.  Attention turns to the US, where several Fed officials speak, October housing starts/permits will be released, and then later in the session, traders will peruse the minutes from last month’s FOMC meeting.  

The euro held Tuesday’s low near $1.0630, and short-covering lifted the single currency to almost $1.07 before the bears showed their hand. Similarly, after the JPY123.50 level was tested, the dollar pushed back, but the quarter yen range is among the narrowest session ranges.Sterling did not keep pace with the euro, but it did briefly trade above yesterday’s high to reach almost $.15250. Comments from the BOE’s Broadbent, who, by talking about the need to look past near-term cost shocks, was a bit more hawkish than somewhat dovish reputation. 

Although the Nikkei posted a small gain, most stock markets are lower today after the S&P 500 failed to sustain its gains yesterday. The S&P 500 reversed after hitting the 50% retracement objective of the slide since the November 4 high near 2114.60.While it successfully closed the gap created by last Friday’s lower opening, last Thursday’s gap remains unfilled.The gap is found 2044.64 and 2045.66. 

Three of the four Fed officials that speak today are known quantities.Barring a significant surprise, Dudley, Lockhart (voting members) and Mester (non-voter) are inclined to support a hike next month.The three are on a panel discussing the payments system, and may not address the state of the economy or monetary policy.The new Dallas Fed President is less familiar to the markets, and he speaks at midday. 

The FOMC minutes are somewhat dated, but may still offer insight into how the Fed is thinking about the pace of tightening. Recall that the September dot-plots suggested that the majority see a four rates hikes next year.The market is less sanguine.We note that the December 2016 Fed funds futures contract implies a yield of 89 bp.