FX Closing Comments

Today was a big day for the greenback, with the Dollar Index up a full 90 ticks today. Flight to quality buying was frequently sited as a prime reason, while a $16 drop in Gold was also helpful. In terms of data, industrial production was up strong, which implied a high degree of capacity utilization and possibly future inflation. The more telling figures are, however, yet to come. In fact, there may be a bit of drama on Wednesday as the influential core CPI figure will be released just 30 minutes before Ben Bernanke begins testifying before the Senate. Many now see rates taking another step higher in August. Early tomorrow, look for the key German ZEW index to be released, which may perk-up Euro pairs. The figure is expected at 34, down from last month's 37.8.