Dollar Up as U.S. Inflation Data Keeps Aggressive Interest Rate Hikes Likely

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By Gina Lee

AiVIF.com – The dollar was up on Thursday morning in Asia as U.S. inflation eased less than expected, keeping the U.S. Federal Reserve on course to tighten monetary policy aggressively.

The US Dollar Index that tracks the greenback against a basket of other currencies edged up 0.11% to 103.980 by 11:42 PM ET (3:42 AM GMT).

The USD/JPY pair edged down 0.12% to 129.80. Long-term Treasury yields are easing from a multi-year peak above 3.2%, giving the yen support.

The AUD/USD pair edged down 0.19% to 0.6924 and the NZD/USD pair fell 0.46% to 0.6270.

The USD/CNY pair jumped 0.42% to 6.7496, while the GBP/USD pair edged down 0.15% to 1.2231.

The euro edged up 0.14% to $1.0526. The single currency got a lift as the European Central bank firmed up expectations that it will raise interest rates in July for the first time in more than a decade.

The U.S. consumer price index (CPI) jumped 8.3% year-on-year in April. The forecasts prepared by AiVIF.com expected a growth of 8.1%, while a growth of 8.5% was recorded in March.

The data suggested that inflation may have peaked but remained close to a 40-year high. The data is unlikely to derail the Fed’s aggressive monetary policy plans.

Investors are expecting at least a half percentage point increase at each of the next two Fed meetings, on June 15 and July 27, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.

“The stronger-than-expected U.S. inflation print heightened concerns over the need for the Fed to accelerate its policy tightening path,” National Australia Bank (OTC:NABZY) senior currency strategist Rodrigo Catril wrote in a note.

In cryptocurrencies, bitcoins fell and tried to retake $30,000 after plunging below that level on Wednesday for the first time since July.