The Federal Reserve will be ending its two-day policy meeting on Wednesday, and traders are looking for hints about monetary tightening measures that may be coming, both in the near term and in the future. Though the Federal Reserve is widely expected to keep interest rates stable in November, analysts are bracing for another rate hike in December
The dollar was up against most of its primary trading partners in advance of the Fed’s announcement. The greenback gained 0.20 percent against the yen to trade at 113.85 as of 10:50 a.m. HK/SIN. The dollar was also up against the euro, trading at $1.1634, and was stronger against the Canadian dollar and the British pound on Wednesday as well.
Wednesday is expected to be a day full of announcements, with the introduction of a Republican bill to cut taxes expected as well as an announcement of an increase in the size of regular government auctions to help the Fed reduce its balance sheet. Traders are also eyeing employment numbers, due out this coming Friday, which will is expected to provide further evidence of the economy’s strength.
Bitcoin Hits New Highs
On the cryptocurrency markets, bitcoin surpassed its previous record high of $6400 on Tuesday after the CME group, the world’s most diverse derivatives marketplace, announced plans to launch bitcoin futures in the fourth quarter of 2018, pending regulatory review. The cryptocurrency was trading at $6424.43 just after 11 a.m. in Hong Kong.
The bitcoin futures contract offered by CME will be cash-settled and based on the CME CF Bitcoin Reference Rate (BRR) which is a daily settlement price published at 4 p.m. London time. There have also been some efforts to trade bitcoin futures on an ETF basis, a possibility that would allow institutional investors to invest in cryptocurrencies, an asset which is generally unavailable on an institutional level.