The U.S. dollar held near an eight-day high on Thursday after U.S. inflation and other economic data slightly strengthened expectations that the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates, ahead of the Jackson Hole symposium for central bankers, which begins later in the day.
Markets are also awaiting a speech and press conference by Ryuzo Himino, one of the Bank of Japan’s deputy governors, looking for indications of the likelihood of an interest-rate hike in September and the potential pace and scope of further monetary tightening.
U.S. Commerce Department data released overnight showed that the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index rose 3.7% in the 12 months through July, unchanged from June but slightly above economists’ expectations of 3.6%, according to a Reuters poll.
On a monthly basis, the PCE index rose 0.2%, compared with expectations for a 0.1% increase, following a 0.1% decline in June.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the currency against a basket including the yen and euro, rose 0.21% to 99.13, its highest level since August 19.
Against the yen, the dollar traded at 159.23, with the Japanese currency giving up most of its gains following an intervention by authorities to support it. The yen remains well above its multi-decade low of around 164 per dollar.
The Canadian dollar was steady at C$1.388 per U.S. dollar. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that “the time has come to teach Canada that it cannot continue this way,” days after trade negotiations between the two neighboring countries collapsed.
The euro traded at $1.1655, while sterling was steady at $1.3592.
The Australian dollar rose 0.18% to $0.7181, while the New Zealand dollar gained 0.1% to $0.5948.
In cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin rose 0.55% to $78,874.60, while Ether gained 1.07% to $2,498.35.
Reuters
