LONDON: The dollar touched a one-week high on Thursday, having enjoyed another leg up after two influential Federal Reserve officials kept alive expectations for a hike in interest rates sometime this year.
New York Fed President William Dudley and Fed Governor Jerome Powell on Wednesday sketched out scenarios in which the central bank could make an initial move earlier than many now expect and then proceed in a slow and gradual manner on further rate increases.
Yet, minutes of the Fed’s March meeting showed there was a wide divergence of views among policymakers, suggesting no consensus on the timing of a move.
“The final arbiter will be the data, recent data argued for delayed rate lift-off. A June 18 rate lift-off is now being priced as quite a slim chance,” said David de Garis, senior economist at NAB.
