📅 Thu, 17 Sep 2026
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Home · Daily Insights · Thu, 17 Sep 2026
London Session • USD Analysis

USD Hits 78/100 as Fed Rate Hike Targets 100.59 Double Bottom

United States Dollar, USD, 78/100, Bullish, powers ahead as the Federal Reserve raises rates 25 basis points and signals further tightening through 2026.

United States Dollar, USD, 78/100, Bullish, powers ahead as the Federal Reserve raises rates 25 basis points and signals further tightening through 2026.

Learn why USD sentiment has surged to 78/100 Bullish following the Fed's hawkish pivot, how this is reshaping major currency pairs, and which technical levels matter most for traders.

What Happened

The US Dollar rallied decisively on Thursday as the Federal Reserve delivered a 25 basis point rate increase to 3.75–4.00 percent and signaled continued tightening ahead. According to NBC Economics and Strategy, the hiking bias and curve reaction underscore Fed credibility concerns, with strategist Warsh delivering a hawkish answer that reinforced market expectations for at least one more 2026 hike. The median dot plot projection showing a 4.1 percent rate for 2027 has already prompted traders to reassess terminal rate assumptions, pushing the US 10-Year Treasury Yield toward the 5 percent mark and embedding an inflation risk premium tied to Middle East tensions.

The greenback's strength has been amplified by technical confirmation: the Dollar Index completed a double bottom formation and now targets 100.59, signaling that markets are pricing in a higher-for-longer US interest rate regime relative to other developed economies. This combination of fundamental hawkishness and bullish chart completion has lifted USD to its strongest sentiment reading in the London session, creating headwinds for nearly every currency pair denominated against the greenback.

“Fed credibility on the line, Warsh just delivered a hawkish answer”— ForexLive · 12:45 UTC

Today's news timeline

Market Reaction

The broader forex market has responded with a sharp reallocation toward USD strength and away from cyclical and commodity-linked currencies. The widest sentiment gap emerges between USD at 78/100 Bullish and Canadian Dollar at 32/100 Bearish: USD/CAD has become the key pair to watch as the exchange rate absorbs both dollar appreciation and CAD weakness driven by Trump's tariff threats and oil's renewed losses following Saudi Arabia's ship-to-ship transfer announcement. European and Japanese currencies have also retreated, with EUR at 38/100 Bearish and JPY at 35/100 Bearish, as divergent monetary policy and safe-haven flows into higher US yields overwhelm regional support factors.

Across the session, only NZD retained modest resilience at 55/100 Neutral on the back of New Zealand's Q2 GDP beat at 2.6 percent year-on-year, yet even this currency pair's upside remains capped by the gravitational pull of USD strength. Sterling has proved particularly vulnerable, with GBP/USD trading below 1.3400 ahead of the Bank of England's rate decision, as the absence of near-term BoE rate cuts leaves the British Pound unable to compete with Fed tightening momentum.

What's Driving the Move

Three key threads run through the bullish US Dollar story:

  1. The Federal Reserve raised the policy rate by 25 basis points to 3.75–4.00 percent and the median dot plot projected one further hike in 2026, confirming hawkish guidance that markets had only partially priced in.
  2. The US 10-Year Treasury Yield neared 5 percent following the rate hike and amid Middle East tensions, embedding a higher inflation risk premium that reinforces dollar safe-haven demand.
  3. The Dollar Index completed a double bottom technical formation and now targets 100.59, signaling bullish price action confirmation that validates the fundamental tightening narrative and encourages fresh long positioning.
“Fed Policy Monitor: Hiking bias and curve reaction – NBC Economics and Strategy”— FXStreet · 06:00 UTC

What to Watch Next

📈 Bull case for the move
The bull case would extend if the Dollar Index breaks through 100.59 on a close basis, confirming the double bottom and inviting a fresh wave of trend-following demand. Any surprise in upcoming US inflation data showing sticky core prices, or a geopolitical flare-up in the Middle East driving oil volatility higher, would reinforce the flight-to-safety bid for US Treasuries and lock in tighter Fed expectations for the remainder of 2026.
📉 Risk to the view
A sharp reversal would require either a dovish pivot from Fed speakers suggesting fewer than one additional 2026 hike, or a sudden deterioration in US Treasury yields if bond markets repriced the terminal rate lower due to recession fears. Alternatively, if Trump's tariff threats against Canada and the EU materialize into concrete policy, risk-off flows and potential stagflation concerns could paradoxically weigh on the dollar by sparking demand for non-correlated safe havens like gold or the Swiss franc.

Traders should monitor Asia-Pacific's reaction when markets open, as the session will test whether USD momentum persists or if profit-taking tempers the rally heading into the New York open.

📊 Bias snapshot at the time of writing
USD
78
▲ Bull
EUR
38
▼ Bear
GBP
42
▼ Bear
JPY
35
▼ Bear
AUD
45
— Neut
CAD
32
▼ Bear
CHF
48
— Neut
NZD
55
— Neut
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How this briefing was written: AI-drafted from real forex news headlines scanned every 3 hours by FXNewsBias, then auto-published on a fixed session schedule. Sentiment scores reflect news flow only, not technical signals or price action. This is information, not financial advice. Always cross-check with your own analysis before trading.