The US dollar soared to an 11-month high after minutes from the Federal Reserve’s July FOMC meeting carried a slightly hawkish tone. The greenback rose to its highest since last September against the euro as forex investors bet policy makers will raise rates sooner. The Bloomberg Dollar Index climbed to 1’029.64 overnight, its highest since February 4th. Major currencies slipped across the board versus the buck, with the pound touching a four-month trough and the Japanese yen fell to its lowest since April 4th. Minutes showed policymakers debated over raising interest rates sooner given the surprisingly stronger labor market recovery. Treasury yields surged higher pushing the greenback. EUR/USD fell to 1.3242 overnight, USD/JPY touched 103.96. The Dow and S&P 500 closed higher despite the hawkish Fed but the NASDAQ closed slightly in red. Asian shares were under pressure following disappointing Chinese manufacturing data but the Nikkei jumped higher as a manufacturing activity index from Japan rose to its highest reading since March. The Aussie dollar plunged lower, extended its losses to a third straight day after the flash PMI data from China showed factory activity slipped to a three-month low. Gold also plunged lower weighed by the strength of the greenback. The precious metal slipped to $1’273.64 by the time of writing.
Posted on: Thu, 21 Aug 2014 07:57:48 +0000
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