Thursday 28 Mar 2024
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TOKYO/SINGAPORE (May 23): The dollar held near its highest levels in two months versus the euro and Aussie as two more Federal Reserve officials joined a chorus of policy makers suggesting U.S. interest rates could rise as early as next month.

The greenback held its longest run of weekly gains against the yen since August after Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren told the Financial Times he’s getting ready to back a tighter monetary policy, while his San Francisco counterpart, John Williams, said on Fox News the June meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee could be “appropriate” for increasing borrowing costs. St. Louis Fed chief James Bullard is due to give a speech in Beijing later on Monday, with Fed Chair Janet Yellen speaking at Harvard University on Friday.

“Speakers on the FOMC will continue to guide U.S. interest rate expectations higher, which will further support the dollar,” said Elias Haddad, a currency strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney. “The U.S. dollar will remain firm this week on encouraging U.S. economic activity.”

The dollar was little changed at $1.1229 per euro at 9:31 a.m. in Tokyo from Friday. It reached $1.1180 on Thursday for the first time since March 29. The U.S. currency slipped 0.2 percent to 72.34 cents against its Australian counterpart, after reaching 71.76 last week, a level unseen since March 2.

The greenback slid 0.3 percent to 109.86 yen, after rising for a third week and touching 110.59 Friday, the strongest since April 28.

 

 

 

 

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