CURRENCIES: Dollar Higher As Fed's Fischer Leaves Door Open To 2 Rate Hikes In 2016
August 26 2016 - 3:45PM
Dow Jones News
By Joseph Adinolfi, MarketWatch , Hiroyuki Kachi
Investors now looking ahead to next Friday's jobs report
The dollar pivoted higher Friday after Federal Reserve Vice
Chairman Stanley Fischer said the central bank could possibly raise
interest rates twice before the end of 2016, depending on the
strength of economic data released in the coming months.
Fischer's comments, made in an interview with CNBC, appeared to
overshadow remarks from Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen at
the Kansas City Fed's annual economic symposium in Jackson Hole,
Wyo.
Read:Fed's Fischer: Yellen's speech consistent with possibility
of 2 interest-rate hikes this year
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/feds-fischer-yellens-speech-consistent-with-possibility-of-2-interest-rate-hikes-this-year-2016-08-26)
And:Fed's Yellen says case for another interest-rate hike has
strengthened
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/feds-yellen-says-case-for-another-interest-rate-hike-has-strenghtened-2016-08-26)
"Even mentioning the possibility of two rate hikes looks very
hawkish," said Steve Englander, global head of G-10 currency
strategy at Citigroup.
The ICE U.S. Dollar Index , a measure of the dollar's strength
against a basket of six rivals, was up 0.7% at 95.4750.
The dollar was changing hands at Yen101.87 late Friday in New
York, compared with Yen100.58 late Thursday in New York. One euro
bought $1.1182 late Friday, compared with $1.1285 late Thursday.
The British pound traded at $1.3126 late Friday, compared with
$1.3193 late Thursday.
The dollar continued to climb after Fed Governor Jerome Powell
said he would support a "cautious" approach to raising rates in an
interview with Bloomberg.
The greenback fluctuated between gains and losses earlier after
Yellen's remarks failed initially to increase investors' confidence
in a rate hike by the end of the year, despite her saying that the
case for raising interest rates had strengthened in recent
months.
"I don't think it tells us anything we didn't already know,"
said Adam Cole, head of G-10 currency strategy at RBC Capital
Markets.
Earlier in the week, several Fed officials, including Dallas Fed
President Rob Kaplan,
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/feds-kaplan-says-case-is-strengthening-for-second-interest-rate-hike-2016-08-25)
suggested interest rates could soon rise, helping lift the
buck.
Expectations for a rate hike by the end of the year have
steadily recovered since the U.K. voted to leave the European Union
back in June--a decision that briefly sent the probability of a
rate hike to zero, as measured by the federal-funds futures
market.
On Friday, futures traders were pricing in a more than 50%
chance of a hike by the end of the year.
U.S. economic data released early Friday had minimal impact on
the market. The highlight--a revised reading on GDP in the second
quarter--left the pace of growth at 1.1%, little changed from the
initial reading.
Read:A weak yuan is a bigger threat to the global economy than
Brexit
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/a-weak-yuan-is-a-bigger-threat-to-the-global-economy-than-brexit-2016-08-25)
That dollar bulls found little support in Yellen's remarks
suggests that investors are growing impatient with the Fed, said
Jameel Ahmad, chief market analyst at FXTM.
"They're not moving to the words anymore, whereas last year
traders were moving to the beat of the statement," Ahmad said.
Investors are now looking ahead to a report on U.S. jobs growth
in August, a widely watched data point expected to be released next
Friday.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 26, 2016 15:30 ET (19:30 GMT)
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