LONDON: The dollar rose against the yen and the euro during Asian trade Thursday, encouraged by what investors interpreted as a slightly hawkish statement from the Federal Open Market Committee in deciding when to raise short term rates.
The greenback USDJPY, +0.21% advanced to ¥124.19, its highest since July 21, before paring earlier gains to ¥124.07. That compared with ¥123.94 late Wednesday in New York. The U.S. currency EURUSD, -0.3277% also strengthened against the euro, which fell to $1.0977 midday from $1.0986 in New York overnight.
The WSJ Dollar Index BUXX, +0.26% a measure of the dollar against a basket of major currencies, was up 0.06% at 88.46.
The U.S. dollar tracked the overnight firm tone that followed the Federal Reserve’s statementafter a two-day policy setting meeting. The stock market’s solid performance in Asia also encouraged market sentiment to help the dollar ratchet up in the morning session before stabilizing just above the ¥124-line.
