The United States of America Dollar, on Friday, June 16 The dollar stood tall in Asia, on track for weekly gains against a currency basket, after upbeat U.S. economic data gave investors reason to hope the U.S. central bank will stick with its plan to hike rates.
The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against six major peers, added 0.1 percent to 97.491, and was up 0.6 percent for the week.
The dollar rose 0.2 percent to 111.18 yen, on track to gain 1.1 percent for the week.
It ticked up to a session high of 111.27 yen, its highest since June 2, after the Bank of Japan kept monetary policy steady as expected, before quickly paring its gain.
The BOJ also upgraded its assessment of private consumption and overseas growth, signalling its confidence that an export-driven economic recovery was broadening and gaining momentum.
Investors awaited a news conference at 3:30 p.m. (0630 GMT)with BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda, who is expected to reassure markets that the central bank was in no hurry to follow the Federal Reserve’s tapering example, according to sources familiar with BOJ thinking.
On Wednesday, the Fed raised interest rates as widely expected, and also released some preliminary details of its plan to begin paring its $4 trillion-plus debt holdings.
The euro was steady on the day at $1.1147, well below a seven-month high of $1.1296 touched on Wednesday, and down 0.6 percent for the week.
Sterling edged up 0.1 percent to $1.2773, getting a lift overnight after the Bank of England (BoE) came closer to hiking interest rates than many had believed it would. As many as three members of the BoE’s policy committee surprised financial markets by voting for a rise in interest rates. It was still down 1.4 percent for the week so far.
The unexpectedly tight 5-3 vote came despite signs of a slowdown in Britain’s economy, and uncertainty over Britain’s political outlook since Prime Minister Theresa May’s failure to win a parliamentary majority in last week’s election.Dollar
