The US Dollar steadied on promises by Federal Reserve member that more interest rate hikes were forthcoming this year. That helped the greenback recover from recently hit troughs. The US Dollar Index, a benchmark used by FX traders to gauge the relative strength of the greenback, rose nearly half a percentage point, moving away from the 4½ month low hit yesterday; the index is current at 99.249 .DXY. Two members of the Fed’s FOMC, namely Robert Kaplan and Charles Evans of the Dallas and Chicago branches of the Fed, respectively, emphasized the likelihood of more rates increases in 2017. Analysts, too, are anticipating two more, and hope that the next could be fast-tracked to June.
As reported at 10:52 am (BST) in London, the EUR/USD was trading lower at $1.0859, down 0.03%; the pair earlier hit a low of $1.0846 while the peak was set at $1.0872 in the trading session. The USD/JPY was up 0.07% to trade at 110.705 Yen, moving toward the session peak of 110.82 Yen while the low was at 110.40 Yen. The AUD/USD was lower at $0.7609, a loss of 0.09%; the pair earlier hit a trough at $0.7588 and the high was at $0.7634 for the session.
Sterling remains steady against the US Dollar, however, as investors away the official launch of Article 50, the triggering of the withdrawal of Britain from the European Union. The GBP/USD was trading higher at $1.2564, a gain of 0.05%; the pair had earlier hit a peak of $1.2596 before slipping back, while the session low was at $1.2539.