Dollar builds on previous day's gains as focus turns to U.S. data
By Harry Robertson and Rae Wee
LONDON/SINGAPORE (Reuters) -The U.S. dollar rose again on Wednesday after jumping the previous day, underpinned by elevated U.S. Treasury yields and a cautious turn that weighed on Wall Street.
Trading was relatively subdued, with Japanese markets shut for a holiday and investors waiting for important U.S. economic releases later in the day, including minutes from the Federal Reserve's December meeting.
The euro was last down 0.2% against the dollar at $1.092, its lowest since Dec. 19. It fell 0.95% on Tuesday in its biggest daily drop since July.
That helped push the dollar index, which tracks the currency against six major peers, up 0.22% to 102.47, building on Tuesday's 0.86% increase.
A drop in inflation and a dovish tilt in the Federal Reserve's December policy meeting fuelled bets for U.S. rate cuts in 2024, toppling the greenback and sparking a rally in Treasuries and stocks in November and December. The dollar index hit a five-month low of 100.61 last week.
Those trends failed to carry over into the New Year, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite closing lower on their first trading session of 2024, dragged down by big tech names [.N]. Treasury yields jumped as prices fell, boosting the attractiveness of U.S. debt and propelling the dollar higher on Tuesday.
«I think that what happened in the latter half of December was just not justified,» said Alvin Tan, head of Asia FX strategy at RBC Capital Markets.
«The markets got carried away with this view of imminent Fed cuts in the first quarter, that took the dollar off. So I do think that this reversal can carry on for a bit longer.»
The greenback was last up 0.61% against Japan's yen at 142.84, adding to the previous day's 0.82%
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