Dollar retreats

SINGAPORE- The dollar hovered around a two-week low on Thursday, weighed down by the latest insistence from Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell that rate increases aren’t on the radar, while sterling has been riding higher with re-opening optimism.

Overnight, the Fed first sounded confident about the economy in its statement. Then Powell was more circumspect and said in his news conference that rate increases were “a ways away” and that the job market still had “some ground to cover”.

The greenback initially rose following the statement, before retreating to a two-week low of $1.1849 per euro after Powell’s remarks.

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It seems to be taking a breather from a month-long steady rise, and the euro is now above its 20-day moving average.

Improved market mood after Bloomberg reported China’s securities regulator held a phone call with banks to soothe fears about the recent selloff also put some support behind riskier currencies overnight, analysts said.

“The reaction was to the Powell presser, which was seen as dovish,” said National Australia Bank’s head of FX strategy Ray Attrill. “And improving risk sentiment should be associated with a weaker dollar,” he added, noting the rebound in US-listed China tech names and recent gains in re-opening exposed firms.

The US dollar index fell for a third straight session on Wednesday and hit a two-week low of 92.233, then held near that level at 92.257 early in the Asia session. – Reuters

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