PT Solid Gold Berjangka | Dollar Loiters at Two-Month Peak Ahead of Powell Speech
The U.S. dollar sat at an over two-month peak on Friday, on course for its sixth straight week of gains as markets await a speech from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to gauge the path of monetary policy.
Investors will parse through Powell’s address on monetary policy at the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium at 10:05 a.m. ET (1405 GMT) to better understand whether the Fed is done with rate hikes and how long it plans to keep rates elevated.
The dollar index , which measures the U.S. currency against six rivals, rose 0.019% to 104.11, the highest since June 7. The index is up 2% in August and set to snap its two-month losing streak.
Two Federal Reserve officials tentatively welcomed a jump in bond market yields as something that could complement the U.S. central bank’s work to slow the economy and get inflation back to the 2% target, while also noting they see a good chance that no more interest rate increases will be needed.
The policymakers – Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker and Boston Fed President Susan Collins – spoke in separate interviews on Thursday.
Data overnight also showed that the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell last week, as labour market conditions remained tight.
A recent run of strong economic data has helped ease worries of an impending recession but with inflation still above the Fed’s target, investors are wary that the U.S. central bank is likely to keep interest rates higher for longer.
In other currencies, the euro was down 0.17% to $1.0791, while sterling was at $1.2587, down 0.10% on the day. Both currencies were at two-month lows.
The yen weakened 0.18% to 146.10 per dollar as the Asian currency straddled the level at which Japanese authorities intervened last year, keeping traders on their toes looking for signs of similar moves this time.
The Australian dollar eased 0.05% to $0.642, while the New Zealand dollar fell 0.02% to $0.592.
Source : Reuters
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