US Dollar Index strengthens to near 99.50 as record-long government shutdown ends

• US Dollar Index trades in positive territory around 99.50 in Thursday's Asian session. 
• Trump signed a bill to end the record-breaking US shutdown. 
• Markets expect that the US rate cuts in December are still on the table.

The US Dollar Index (DXY), an index of the value of the US Dollar (USD) measured against a basket of six world currencies, trades on a positive note around 99.50 during the Asian trading hours on Thursday. The DXY gains ground after a record-long US government shutdown ends as US President Donald Trump signs a funding bill. 

A prolonged shutdown in US history ended on Thursday after Trump signed a funding bill to reopen the government, per CNN. The House of Representatives approved the bill earlier Thursday in a 222-209 vote, with nearly every Republican and a handful of Democrats voting for it. The positive developments could provide some support to the US Dollar in the near term.

Nonetheless, the reopening will trigger the release of a backlog of economic data, even though the White House said on Wednesday that jobs and consumer price figures for October may never be released. Analysts believe that resumption of US economic data will point to a slowing economy, and that would prompt the Federal Reserve (Fed) to reduce interest rates in December. The markets are now pricing in nearly a 64% chance of a Fed rate reduction in December, according to the CME FedWatch tool.  

Fed policymakers are divided on rate reductions amid inflation concerns. Fed Governor Stephen Miran described US monetary policy as too tight, mainly because he believes cooling housing inflation is easing price pressures. Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said on Wednesday that he favors leaving interest rates where they are until there is "clear evidence" that inflation is moving back to the Fed's 2% target.  

Fed officials are scheduled to speak later on Thursday, including Neel Kashkari, Alberto Musalem and Beth Hammack. These remarks could offer clues about future monetary policy. Any hawkish comments from Fed officials could boost the USD, while the dovish remarks could drag the Greenback lower.