Dollar Stays Firm On Rate Hike Bets
(RTTNews) - The U.S. dollar stayed positive against most of its major counterparts on Tuesday, riding on hawkish comments from some Fed officials.
San Francisco Fed president Mary Daly said she expects interest rates to rise beyond 5 percent this year. Atlanta Fed president Raphael Bostic also said interest rates need to be raised above 5 percent.
Meanwhile, in his latest speech, the Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell abstained from commenting on monetary policy.
In his speech in Stockholm today, Powell stressed the case for monetary policy independence and noted that price stability is the bedrock of a healthy economy.
"Restoring price stability when inflation is high can require measures that are not popular in the short term as we raise interest rates to slow the economy," Powell said.
The absence of direct political control over our decisions allows us to take these necessary measures without considering short-term political factors, Powell added.
The dollar index, which climbed to 103.49 in the European session, dropped to 103.03 after Fed Chair Powell but surged to 103.27 later on to gain nearly 0.3%.
Against the Euro, the dollar settled at 1.0735, little changed from the previous close.
Against Pound Sterling, the dollar 1.2150 firmed from around 1.2180.
The dollar strengthened against the Japanese currency to fetch 132.25 yen a unit, up from around 131.80 yen.
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