Dollar retreats further as Powell says taper ‘a ways off’
15 Jul 2021 | Economic News
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Dollar retreats further as Powell says taper ‘a ways off’
The U.S. dollar fell on Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said in remarks prepared for Congress that the economy was “still a ways off” from levels the central bank wanted to see before tapering its monetary support.
Powell said in his prepared comments ahead of his two-day testimony starting later in the day that the Fed is firm in its belief that current price increases are tied to the reopening of the economy and are transitory.
The Fed will continue to deliver support “until recovery is complete,” he said.
The dollar index declined after Powell’s comments, slipping 0.4% to 92.428. It had earlier risen as high as 92.832 - just below the 92.844 level reached last week for the first time since April 5.
Against the euro, it slipped 0.41% to $1.18245, having earlier touched its highest since April 5 off of Tuesday’s inflation reading.