US data in the spotlight for the USD index later this afternoon

At 3pm GMT there are a couple of US economic releases that could shift the dial for the dollar later this afternoon, heading into the 4pm London Fix. Those are the latest US consumer confidence index and JOLTS, jobs openings numbers. The US consumer is expected to remain ebullient and positive. The forecast there is for a rise to 114.50, from the previous reading of 110.7. The JOLTS data is expected to come in slightly lower though, at 8.75 million, compared to a reading last month of 8.79 million. Ahead of these releases, the dollar has lost some steam and mostly versus the Euro right now. So, the Dollar index (USDX) has been tracking lower today. Yesterday the index peaked at 103.82, but could not hold that gain into the close. The index closed last night at 103.48. Perhaps that was rather disappointing for the dollar bulls and it has traded a little lower today as a result. It could need those two data points to beat the street, if that disappointment is not to extend further. The Index has traded to a low at 103.36 so far today