The dollar headed for an eighth straight month of gains against major peers after signs U.S. inflation may rebound revived speculation the Federal Reserve has scope to raise interest rates.
A gauge of the greenback erased losses for February, climbing to within 0.1 percent of a record closing high Thursday after a greater-than-forecast increase in so-called core inflation offset concern that overall consumer prices tumbled last month. Fed Chair Janet Yellen told Congress this week that short-term declines in inflation are linked to the plunge in crude-oil prices and are likely to prove temporary.
“Everyone had pre-positioned for a pretty weak CPI,” said Matt Derr, a foreign-exchange strategist in New York at Credit Suisse Group AG. “Even if it wasn’t a huge surprise, it was enough to get that unwound. Things moved pretty aggressively after Yellen’s testimony.”
Recommended Content
Editors’ Picks
AUD/USD regains the constructive outlook above the 200-day SMA
AUD/USD advanced strongly for the second session in a row, this time extending the recovery to the upper 0.6500s and shifting its focus to the weekly highs in the 0.6580-0.6585 band, an area coincident with the 100-day SMA.
EUR/USD keeps the bullish performance above 1.0700
The continuation of the sell-off in the Greenback in the wake of the FOMC gathering helped EUR/USD extend its bounce off Wednesday’s lows near 1.0650, advancing past the 1.0700 hurdle ahead of the crucial release of US NFP on Friday.
Gold stuck around $2,300 as market players lack directional conviction
Gold extended its daily slide and dropped below $2,290 in the second half of the day on Thursday. The benchmark 10-year US Treasury bond yield erased its daily losses after US data, causing XAU/USD to stretch lower ahead of Friday's US jobs data.
Bitcoin price rises 5% as BlackRock anticipates a new wave of capital inflows into BTC ETFs from investors
Bitcoin (BTC) price slid to the depths of $56,552 on Wednesday as the cryptocurrency market tried to front run the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. The flash crash saw millions in positions get liquidated.
FOMC in the rear-view mirror – NFP eyed
The update from May’s FOMC rate announcement proved more dovish than expected, which naturally weighed on the US dollar (sending the DXY to lows of 105.44) and US yields, as well as, initially at least, underpinning major US equity indices.