European session review: USD appreciates as Evergrande saga returns in focus

USD rose against other major currencies in the European session on Friday, as renewed worries about the fate of the Chinese property developer Evergrande raised the demand for safe-haven currencies.

The U.S. Dollar Index (DXY), measuring the U.S. currency's value relative to a basket of foreign currencies, increased 0.23% to 93.30.

Evergrande bondholders have not received an $83.5 million dollar-bond debt payment that was due Thursday, September 23, and the company entered a 30-day grace period before a default is triggered. The Chinese authorities did not signal that they would provide support to the company to meet its obligations for foreign creditors. Thus, the fate of one of China's largest real estate developers remains uncertain, reigniting worries about the systemic risks its potential collapse poses to the country's financial system and globally.

In addition, market participants are pricing in a potential interest rate increase by the end of 2022. The  Fed's latest "dot plot" showed that half of the FOMC members now see the first interest rate hike in 2022. The U.S. central bank’s chairman Jerome Powell also signaled that the Fed could begin scaling back its bond purchases in November and end the process by mid-2022.