Dollar holds firm ahead of Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s speech
The dollar held firm on Friday after the U.S. Federal Reserve’s hawkish wing called for tapering bond purchases as investors looked to a highly-anticipated speech by Fed Chair Jerome Powell later in the day.
For now, the dollar was supported also by caution after a suicide bomb attack in Kabul airport killed scores of civilians and 13 U.S. troops. Islamic State claimed responsibility.
The dollar index stood at 93.032, bouncing back from Thursday’s low of 92.807 as the euro traded at $1.1755, having eased from the previous day’s high of $1.1779.
The common currency was not helped by a survey showing German consumer sentiment darkened heading into September due to accelerating inflation and rising Covid-19 cases.
Sterling also dropped to $1.3703. Against the yen, the dollar stood little changed at 110.06 yen.
Many investors, however, think Powell will strike a more dovish tone in his speech at 1400 GMT in the Kansas City Fed’s central banking conference.
Elsewhere, the Australian dollar fetched $0.7243 ahead of the country’s retail sales data.
In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin slipped to $47,430 while ether also eased to $3,142
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