USD/NOK plumbs new 31-month low, focus on Fed

The USD/NOK currency pair was hovering above a fresh 31-month low of 9.8020 on Tuesday ahead of the outcome of the Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting.

The Fed is widely expected to lower its federal funds rate target range by 25 basis points to 4.00%-4.25% at its September meeting.

Markets are also pricing in a 4% chance of a super-sized 50 basis point cut.

In July, the Fed kept borrowing costs without change, but two governors dissented in favor of a rate cut, which has been the first such dual dissent since 1993.

And, the minutes from the Fed’s meeting in July showed that most policy makers remained more concerned about persistent inflation pressures than about labor market risks.

Investors will also be paying close attention to the press conference with Fed Chair Jerome Powell for clues over the timing of future interest rate cuts as well as to the new set of FOMC economic forecasts.

Meanwhile, the latest data out of Norway showed that the nation’s trade surplus had widened to NOK 60.1 billion in August from NOK 59.2 billion in the same month of 2024.

Exports fell 5.2% year-on-year to NOK 143.4 billion, while imports slumped 9.4% to NOK 83.3 billion.

was last up 0.01% on the day to trade at 9.8226.