NEW YORK – The US dollar fell significantly in late trading yesterday as the latest US inflation data showed a sign of cooling in the economy, reported Xinhua.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, was down 0.69% to 101.4997.
In late New York trading, the euro was up to US$1.0995 (RM4.84) from US$1.0908 in the previous session, and the British pound increased to US$1.2488 from US$1.2418 in the previous session.
The US dollar bought 133.1600 Japanese yen, lower than 133.7700 Japanese yen of the previous session. The US dollar decreased to 0.8957 Swiss franc from 0.9033 Swiss franc, and it decreased to 1.3429 Canadian dollars from 1.3467 Canadian dollars. The US dollar fell to 10.3300 Swedish Krona from 10.4551 Swedish Krona.
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported yesterday that the consumer price index, a key gauge of inflation, rose by 5% in March year on year.
While the index indicated that inflation has eased significantly from its peak of more than 9% in June 2022, it’s still much higher than the Fed’s target of 2%.
“It’s improving and the economy is cooling, but it's still far from tepid,” Diane Swonk, chief economist at KPMG, said yesterday.
Although FedWatch Tool shows that there is a 70% probability of a 25 bps rate hike at the next Fed meeting, “traders have started to prepare for rate cuts in the second half of the year,” Vladimir Zernov, analyst with market information supplier FX Empire, said yesterday. – Bernama-Xinhua, April 13, 2023
