SINGAPORE- The dollar was broadly steady on Wednesday, keeping the yen rooted near 34-year lows after comments from Federal Reserve officials, including Chair Jerome Powell, suggested US interest rates are likely to stay higher for longer.
Top US central bank officials including Powell backed away on Tuesday from providing any guidance on when interest rates may be cut, saying instead that monetary policy needs to be restrictive for longer, dashing investor hopes for significant easing this year.
The comments follow a slew of data in recent weeks that have underscored the strength of the US economy along with persistent inflation.
“Right now, given the strength of the labor market and progress on inflation so far, it’s appropriate to allow restrictive policy further time to work and let the data and the evolving outlook guide us,” Powell said at a forum in Washington.
The dollar was broadly steady, with the euro at $1.0621 on Wednesday, not far from the five-and-half-month low of $1.06013 it touched on Tuesday.
Against a basket of currencies, the dollar was last at 106.32, just shy of the five-month peak of 106.51 touched on Tuesday. The index is up 5 percent for the year.
Powell’s comments further squashed any lingering expectations of the Fed cutting rates in the near term, with markets pricing in September as the new starting point of the easing cycle, pushing back from June.
Traders now anticipate 40 basis points of cuts in 2024, drastically lower than the 160 bps of easing they priced for at the start of the year.
“Powell and other Fed officials are sticking to the view that rate cuts have been delayed rather than abandoned, which continues to give investors comfort,” said Ben Bennett, APAC investment strategist at Legal And General Investment Management.
