U.S. Dollar Gains on Rate Increase Speculation

The dollar climbed against emerging-market currencies and held gains versus major peers amid speculation over the timeline for U.S. interest-rate increases. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average extended its longest rally this year while Treasuries and nickel retreated.

The greenback gained at least 0.1 percent versus the currencies of South Korea, Malaysia and Thailand by 9:59 a.m. in Tokyo, with the yen near a more-than four-month low and the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index holding its highest close since February. The Nikkei 225 jumped 0.7 percent in a ninth day of gains, the most since December, while Korean shares fell. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures were little changed after the gauge neared a record in New York. Ten-year Treasury yields rose a fourth day as nickel dropped 0.4 percent in London.

The Federal Reserve raised the possibility of increasing U.S. rates sooner than anticipated in minutes from their July meeting released yesterday, while also acknowledging ongoing slack in the labor market. The minutes set the stage for Chair Janet Yellen’s address to global central bankers later this week. Manufacturing is in focus today, with gauges of factory output in China and Japan due, along with data for the euro area and the U.S. A court rules on Indonesia’s election result.