NEW YORK – The dollar index, which gauges the greenback against six major rivals, stuck near the middle of its range this week, trading little changed at 113.27.
The US currency remained close to a fresh 24-year high to the yen from overnight at 146.98, last changing hands at 146.81.
At the same time, the dollar was little changed versus sterling, which had rebounded strongly from a two-week trough of $1.0925 on Tuesday. It last traded at $1.1088.
Benchmark 10-year gilt yields had swung from a fresh 14-year peak at 4.632 percent to close at 4.429 percent on Wednesday, little changed from the previous session.
The Bank of England insisted that its emergency bond market support will expire on Friday as originally announced, countering media reports of continued aid if necessary.
BoE Governor Andrew Bailey had riled markets on Tuesday by saying British pension funds and other investors hit hard by a slump in bond prices had until that deadline to fix their problems.
“Volatility in UK markets — gilts and sterling – remains exceptional,” but “the reality is (the BoE) will necessarily be there if market conditions demand,”Ray Attrill, head of foreign-exchange strategy at National Australia Bank, wrote in a report.
The sell-off in US Treasuries eased on Wednesday, but data showing producer prices rose more than expected in September indicate inflation will stay high and keep the Federal Reserve aggressively hiking interest rates.
The producer price index for final demand rebounded 0.4 percent last month, while in the 12 months through September the PPI increased 8.5 percent after advancing 8.7 percent in August, the Labor Department said. –Reuters
