The dollar rises moderately against the euro and the pound sterling, but weakly depreciates against the yen as market participants assess statements by members of the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed).
The ICE-calculated index showing the U.S. dollar against six currencies (euro, Swiss franc, yen, Canadian dollar, pound sterling and the Swedish krona) is up 0.16%, while the broader WSJ Dollar Index is up 0.14%.
The Fed will raise the benchmark interest rate by at least another 1 percentage point or more, and only after that could it take a pause, Mary Daley, head of the Federal Reserve Bank (FRB) of San Francisco, said the night before. A rate range of 4.75-5.25 percent “is a reasonable level to consider,” she told CNBC.
Kansas City Fed Governor Esther George also said the Fed should not stop raising rates too soon, and added that the goal of achieving a “soft landing” could be difficult.
The Fed has raised the benchmark interest rate by 3.75 percentage points (pp) in less than a year, increasing it by 0.75 pp at once in the last four meetings. The rate is currently at 3.75-4% per annum, and the market expects it to rise by 50 bps in December.
By 8:52 Moscow time the euro/dollar pair is trading at $1.0378 versus $1.0396 at the close of Wednesday’s session and the euro is losing about 0.2%.
The dollar/yen exchange rate is down 0.1% at 139.39 yen, down from 139.54 yen at the end of last session.
The pound is getting cheaper by 0.2% and trades at $1.1895 against $1.1915 the day before.
On Thursday the market is waiting for the final data on October inflation in the euro area and data on the construction of new houses in the USA.