WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The U.S. dollar gained some ground against its major counterparts on Wednesday with traders assessing the likely move of the Federal Reserve with regard to interest rates, after recent economic data and hawkish comments from some Fed officials.
Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari said on Tuesday that interest rates may need to remain at current levels for an 'extended period' and said he couldn't rule out another rate increase.
The Federal Reserve is still widely expected to lower rates sometime in the third quarter, however, with CME Group's FedWatch Tool currently indicating an 83.5% chance rates will be lower by September.
A report on weekly jobless claims, due on Thursday, and the University of Michigan's preliminary reading on consumer sentiment, due on Friday, are likely to provide some clues about possible interest rate moves by the Fed.
The dollar index stayed positive right through the day, moving between 105.39 and 105.64. The index was last seen at 105.55, up 0.13% from the previous close.
Against the Euro, the dollar gained marginally at 1.0748. The dollar was up against Pound Sterling, trading at 1.2496 a unit of the British currency, paring gains after strengthening to 1.2467 earlier in the day.
Against the Japanese currency, the dollar strengthened to 155.62 yen. The Aussie was weak against the greenback, with the AUD/USD pair trading at 0.6579.
Against Swiss franc, the dollar weakened a bit to CHF 0.9079, and was flat against the Loonie at C$1.3725.
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