By: Barbara Zigah
Ahead of the Federal Reserve Treasury auction scheduled for later today, the U.S. Dollar tumbled sharply on investor concerns that the Federal Reserve will have to increase key interest rates before the year’s end. As reported at 3:12 p.m. (JST) in Tokyo, the Euro traded at $1.4099, slightly off yesterday’s high of $1.4109, while the Australian Dollar traded at $0.7962, an increase of .3%. Only versus the Japanese Yen did the U.S. Dollar make any headway, gaining .4% to trade at 95.62 Japanese Yen.
The Australian Dollar also saw gains against the Yen, trading at 76.18 Yen, an increase of .6%; since the first quarter of 2009, the Australian Dollar has gained 37% versus the Yen. Analysts are awaiting the release of a statement from the Federal Reserve which is expected to be aimed at calming the concerns of investors that an interest rate increase is imminent. That statement is expected to be announced at 6:15 p.m. (GMT).
One analyst maintains that the statement will reaffirm the Fed’s commitment to maintaining the current low interest rates, yet signal that the emergency lending program will be gradually tapered off, and not abruptly ended as some investors are speculating.
U.S. Dollar Tumbles ahead of FOMC Meeting
After working on Wall Street, Barb began her second career as a freelance writer at Daily Forex, where the CEO recognized fresh, untapped potential and was willing to give her a try. She’s never looked back. Since then, she’s worked steadily as a freelance writer and editor in the financial services and Forex-related industry.