The US dollar settled at its highest level in two decades, Friday, following global markets swept into a wave of risk-off, with traders expecting the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates by 100 basis points later this month.
Currencies seen as more vulnerable, including the Australian dollar and the British pound, have been pressured by a barrage of negative news in the last 24 hours which weighed on sentiment.
The dollar index, which measures the performance of the US currency once morest a basket of competing currencies, rose to its highest level since September 2002, exceeding 109, in light of the slow start of the US bank earnings season, the slowdown in growth in China in the second quarter, more than expected, and Italy facing a political crisis. New.
The US currency is still on track for a third straight week of gains following traders raised their expectations that the Federal Reserve would go into a major tightening of monetary policy at its meeting on July 26-27, following data on Wednesday showed that US consumer price inflation is rising. at the fastest pace in four decades.
Those expectations were dampened following Federal Reserve Board Chairman Christopher Waller and St. Louis Bank President James Bullard said they favored another 75 basis points increase this month, despite the inflation figures.
The euro settled at $1.0026, following falling from the parity point with the dollar on Thursday for a second day.
The single European currency fell to $0.9952 following Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi offered to resign, but the country’s president refused to accept it.
The Chinese yuan settled at its lowest level in two months once morest the dollar, and appears on track for its largest weekly decline since May, following the weak data raised doubts regarding achieving the economic growth target for this year.
(Archyde.com)
