U.S. Dollar Declines As Powell Indicates Imminent Rate Cut

(RTTNews) - The U.S. dollar lost ground against its major counterparts in the New York session on Friday, as Chair Jerome Powell's speech reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve will start cutting rates at the upcoming meeting in September.

In his speech at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium in Wyoming, Powell affirmed the need to adjust monetary policy soon amid weakness in the labor market.

Powell said inflation is now much closer to the Fed's objective, with consumer prices rising 2.5 percent year-over-year in July, and noted progress toward 2 percent has resumed after a pause earlier this year.

With regard to employment, Powell acknowledged that the labor market has cooled considerably from its formerly overheated state, with the unemployment rate rising to 4.3 percent.

"We do not seek or welcome further cooling in labor market conditions," Powell added.

According to CME Group's FedWatch Tool, there is a 67.5 percent chance of a quarter point rate cut at the September 17-18 meeting and a 32.5 percent chance of a half point rate cut.

The greenback declined to more than a 1-year low of 1.1196 against the euro, 2-1/2-year low of 1.3230 against the pound and a 2-day low of 144.59 against the yen, from yesterday's close of 1.1112, 1.3087 and 146.28, respectively. The greenback is likely to find support around 1.14 against the euro, 1.33 against the pound and 140.00 against the yen.

The greenback dipped to a 4-1/2-month low of 1.3501 against the loonie, 6-week low of 0.6791 against the aussie and more than a 7-month low of 0.6223 against the kiwi, from yesterday's closing values of 1.3614, 0.6703 and 0.6140, respectively. The currency is seen finding support around 1.33 against the loonie, 0.70 against the aussie and 0.64 against the kiwi.

The greenback touched more than a 2-week low of 0.8470 against the franc, down from a 2-day high of 0.8541 seen at 9:45 am ET. At yesterday's close, the pair was quoted at 0.8522. Immediate support for the currency is seen around the 0.83 level.