U.S. Dollar Advances After Fed Minutes
April 11 2018 - 11:22PM
RTTF2
The U.S. dollar advanced against its major counterparts in the
Asian session on Thursday, as minutes from the recent Federal Open
Market Committee meeting showed that members were optimistic about
economic growth and inflation moving up to target, which might need
a "slightly steeper" path of rate hikes than currently
expected.
"All participants agreed that the outlook for the economy beyond
the current quarter had strengthened in recent months," the minutes
from the March 20-21 meeting showed.
The Fed also anticipated a rise in inflation that was
progressing toward its 2 percent goal.
"A number of participants indicated that the stronger outlook
for economic activity, along with their increased confidence that
inflation would return to 2 percent over the medium term, implied
that the appropriate path for the (Fed's policy rate) over the next
few years would likely be slightly steeper than they had previously
expected," the minutes said.
Some member say that "monetary policy eventually would likely
gradually move from an accommodative stance to being a neutral or
restraining factor for economic activity," it showed.
At the March meeting, the Fed raised its benchmark federal-funds
rate by a quarter percentage point to between 1.5% and 1.75%.
The greenback climbed to a 3-day high of 0.9601 against the
Swiss franc, from a low of 0.9568 hit at 5:00 pm ET. The greenback
is seen finding resistance around the 0.98 region.
The greenback reversed from an early low of 1.2380 against the
euro, rising to 1.2354. On the upside, 1.19 is likely seen as the
next resistance for the greenback.
The greenback bounced off to 1.4171 against the pound, from a
low of 1.4198 hit at 9:00 pm ET. The next possible resistance for
the greenback is seen around the 1.38 level.
Data from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors showed
that UK house price balance remained at zero in March.
The balance was forecast to rise to 2 percent from zero posted
in February.
The greenback recovered to 0.7745 against the aussie and 1.2594
against the loonie, from its early lows of 0.7772 and 1.2562,
respectively. If the greenback rises further, it may find
resistance around 0.75 against the aussie and 1.28 against the
loonie.
Having fallen to 106.70 against the yen at 8:15 pm ET, the
greenback reversed direction and rose to 106.97. The greenback is
likely to find resistance around the 110.00 region.
Looking ahead, Eurozone industrial production for February and
ECB minutes of March 7-8 meeting are due in the European
session.
In the New York session, U.S. import and export prices for
March, weekly jobless claims for the week ended April 7 and Canada
new housing price index for February are scheduled for release.
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