U.S. Dollar Higher On Fed Outlook

(RTTNews) - The U.S. dollar moved up against its major counterparts in the New York session on Thursday on dovish Fed outlook.

The U.S. Federal Reserve held interest rates steady and signaled the possibility of two rate cuts by the end of the year, given increased uncertainty around the economic outlook.

The Fed also lowered its economic outlook for the year, marked up its inflation expectations and said it will start shrinking its balance sheet at a slower pace starting next month amid growing worries around tariffs.

In economic news, data from the Labor Department showed that first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits crept slightly higher in the week ended March 15.

The report said initial jobless claims inched up to 223,000, an increase of 2,000 from the previous week's revised level of 221,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to rise to 224,000 from the 220,000 originally reported for the previous week.

The greenback climbed to 3-day highs of 1.2935 against the pound and 0.8842 against the franc, from an early 4-1/2-month low of 1.3014 and a 3-1/2-month low of 0.8755, respectively. The greenback may face resistance around 1.24 against the pound and 0.92 against the franc.

The greenback advanced to a 10-day high of 1.0814 against the euro, 6-day high of 1.4401 against the loonie and a 1-week high of 0.6270 against the aussie. The currency is poised to challenge resistance around 1.03 against the euro, 1.46 against the loonie and 0.61 against the aussie.

The greenback edged up to 148.95 against the yen, from an early 6-day low of 148.16. The currency is seen finding resistance around the 151.00 level.

The greenback rose to a 6-day high of 0.5723 against the kiwi, from an early 2-day low of 0.5827. If the currency continues its uptrend, 0.55 is possibly seen as its next resistance level.