Dollar loiters at two-month peak ahead of Powell speech
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to gauge the path of monetary policy.
Investors will parse through Powell's address on monetary policy at the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium at 10:05 a.m. ET (1405 GMT) to better understand whether the Fed is done with rate hikes and how long it plans to keep rates elevated.
The dollar index, which measures the U.S.
currency against six rivals, rose 0.019% to 104.11, the highest since June 7. The index is up 2% in August and set to snap its two-month losing streak.
«Market expects Powell to use the platform tonight to reiterate the 'higher for longer' rhetoric given how the U.S.
economy has displayed relative resilience,» said Christopher Wong, a currency strategist at OCBC in Singapore.
Wong said Powell is likely to stress that policy outcome remains highly dependent on economic data.
«The risk is that Powell's message or tone comes across as less hawkish than expected,» Wong said. «He does not need to be dovish but a less hawkish speech could see dollar ease off.»
Two Federal Reserve officials tentatively welcomed a jump in bond market yields as something that could complement the U.S.
