Yahoo Finance Forex – Dollar Rises Ahead of Fed Minutes
Investing.com – The dollar rose against the other major currencies in Asia on Wednesday morning, after climbing to a fresh new high this year on Monday. The warming trade relations between the U.S. and China helped revive risk appetite. Markets also eye the Federal Reserve’s minutes that will come on Thursday in Asia to look for cues for rate hikes.
The U.S. dollar index that tracks the greenback against a basket of six major currencies last stood at 93.62, up 0.12% at 11:36AM ET (03:36 GMT). On Monday, the greenback climbed to another fresh high this year at 93.91, testing the 94 level.
Apart from the easing trade relations between the world’s two biggest economies – the U.S. and China, the dollar was also supported by the continued rise of U.S. 10-year Treasury yields that hit 3% recently and expectations for interest rates.
On the other hand, the much-awaited minutes from the Federal Reserve also drove the dollar higher in late morning in Asia. The Fed kept the interest rates unchanged on May 2, as what the markets expected. The Fed also expressed confidence that inflation could hit its 2% target. Investors will look for more hints for Fed’s future plan of hiking the interest rates.
The USD/JPY pair lost 0.40% to 110.46. The strong momentum of the greenback has weighed on the safe-haven yen.
Down under, the AUD/USD pair shed 0.46% at 0.7541. The Aussie was dragged lower by the local construction work data that came in weaker than expected. In the first quarter of this year, construction work done rose just 0.2% quarter-on-quarter compared to 1.3% expected and -18.3% from the fourth quarter of last year.
In China, the People's Bank of China set the set the reference rate for the yuan against the dollar, the mid-point from which the currency is allowed to trade, at 6.3773 versus the previous day's 6.3799. The USD/CNY pair gained 0.10% to trade at 6.3729.
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