020 7898 0500The US dollar has enjoyed a recent run of relative strength versus its peers, and though this has slowed a little lately, the currency continues to be buoyed by expectations of a strengthening US economy and expectations that the Federal Reserve will continue to hike US interest rates.
Yesterday’s economic data in the US wasn’t hugely influential, with crude oil inventories the only figure of note, coming out near enough at expectations. A little surprisingly, the US Dollar was also little influenced by the day’s news that China had announced to counter US trade tariffs with its own tariffs on Chinese imports of US goods.
Instead, focus was on Federal Reserve President Thomas Barkin’s comments that the strength of the US economy meant that interest rates would need to keep being hiked. ‘It is difficult to argue that lower than normal rates are appropriate when unemployment is low and inflation is effectively at the Feds target,’ he said.
Today see’s US PPI figures, an inflation indicator which will be watched by markets to give further support to the argument that the US should be increasing interest rates further very soon.
