Washington, DC – The US dollar held steady in early Asian trading on Friday, after reaching a three-month high following a decline on Wall Street on Thursday and losses in global markets.
The dollar index, which measures the performance of the US currency against a basket of six currencies, rose to 99.478. Meanwhile, the dollar fell against the Japanese yen to 153.935 yen after data from Tokyo showed core consumer prices rose 2.8% year-on-year in October, further complicating the Bank of Japan’s monetary policy path.
Rodrigo Catril, a currency strategist at National Australia Bank, said, “Risk aversion is good for the dollar.” He added that the Federal Reserve has yet to confirm whether it will cut interest rates again this year.
According to FedWatch contracts, expectations of a 25-basis-point rate cut at the December meeting have fallen to 74.7%. This is compared to 91.1% last week.
In contrast, the euro rose 0.1% to $1.1572 after the European Central Bank kept interest rates at 2%, indicating that monetary policy is “in a good place” as economic risks recede.
The dollar held steady against the Chinese yuan at 7.1089, the Australian dollar at $0.6555, and the New Zealand dollar at $0.574. The British pound rose 0.1% to $1.316.
