Dollar jumps higher as Fed’s Fischer leaves door open to 2 rate hikes in 2016
New York (Aug 28) The dollar pivoted higher Friday after Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer said the central bank could possibly raise interest rates twice before the end of 2016, depending on the strength of economic data released in the coming months.
Fischer’s comments, made in an interview with CNBC, appeared to overshadow remarks from Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen at the Kansas City Fed’s annual economic symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyo.
And: Fed’s Yellen says case for another interest-rate hike has strengthened
“Even mentioning the possibility of two rate hikes looks very hawkish,” said Steve Englander, global head of G-10 currency strategy at Citigroup.
The ICE U.S. Dollar Index DXY, +0.81% a measure of the dollar’s strength against a basket of six rivals, was up 0.7% at 95.4750.
The dollar USDJPY, +1.29% was changing hands at ¥101.87 late Friday in New York, compared with ¥100.58 late Thursday in New York. One euro EURUSD, -0.7886% bought $1.1182 late Friday, compared with $1.1285 late Thursday. The British pound GBPUSD, -0.4320% traded at $1.3126 late Friday, compared with $1.3193 late Thursday.
The dollar continued to climb after Fed Governor Jerome Powell said he would support a “cautious” approach to raising rates in an interview with Bloomberg.
The greenback fluctuated between gains and losses earlier after Yellen’s remarks failed initially to increase investors’ confidence in a rate hike by the end of the year, despite her saying that the case for raising interest rates had strengthened in recent months.
“I don’t think it tells us anything we didn’t already know,” said Adam Cole, head of G-10 currency strategy at RBC Capital Markets.
Earlier in the week, several Fed officials, including Dallas Fed President Rob Kaplan, suggested interest rates could soon rise, helping lift the buck.
Expectations for a rate hike by the end of the year have steadily recovered since the U.K. voted to leave the European Union back in June—a decision that briefly sent the probability of a rate hike to zero, as measured by the federal-funds futures market.
On Friday, futures traders were pricing in a more than 50% chance of a hike by the end of the year.
U.S. economic data released early Friday had minimal impact on the market. The highlight—a revised reading on GDP in the second quarter—left the pace of growth at 1.1%, little changed from the initial reading.
That dollar bulls found little support in Yellen’s remarks suggests that investors are growing impatient with the Fed, said Jameel Ahmad, chief market analyst at FXTM.
“They’re not moving to the words anymore, whereas last year traders were moving to the beat of the statement,” Ahmad said.
Investors are now looking ahead to a report on U.S. jobs growth in August, a widely watched data point expected to be released next Friday.
Source: MarketWatch
