The US dollar was firm across the board as Eric Rosengren, Boston Fed President, added to the choir of policy makers speaking in favor of continuing monetary tightening.
Rosengren said today:
My personal view, based on data that we have received to date, is that a reasonable case can be made for continuing to pursue a gradual normalization of monetary policy.
He added further that tightening is necessary to support the current positive trend in the employment market:
A failure to continue on the path of gradual removal of accommodation could shorten, rather than lengthen, the duration of this recovery.
All in all, his remarks were not vastly different from those of other Fed members who were vouching for tighter monetary policy.
Currently, the chances for an interest rate hike in September stand at 27% according to the CME FedWatch page. While the probability does not look that high, it is not that small considering that it has been basically non-existent not that long ago. Furthermore, chances for a hike in December are higher than 60%.
EUR/USD dropped from 1.1260 to 1.1217 as of 17:31 GMT today. GBP/USD fell from 1.3293 to 1.3265 after being steady at the start of the European trading session. USD/JPY ticked up from the open of 102.48 to trade at 102.71, bouncing from the daily low of 101.96.
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