Dollar Retains Bullish Bias As Fed Officials Promise More Rate Hikes

The US dollar (USD) retained a bullish outlook against its currency counterparts on Thursday, as US Federal Reserve officials asserted that the central bank was unwavering in its aim to cut down the overblown inflation with aggressive interest rate policies.

Fed officials fought to dispel the narrative that the bank has reached its peak in its rate hike journey, which buoyed the dollar in the London session on Thursday. San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly and Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari asserted to the press that they remained determined to combat the growing inflation.

That said, top Fed officials have signaled that they will not shift their aggressive rate hike stance until it becomes clear that inflation is headed back to the Fed’s 2% target.

Commenting on the stance, the Head of Currency Strategy at Rabobank, Jane Foley, noted: “We’ve had hawkish comments and we’ve also had comments about the extent to which bond markets are expecting rate cuts next year.” Foley added: “This suggests that rates will stay higher for longer. So, this peak hawkishness could be drawn-out, and that has supported the dollar this week.”

US Dollar Index Trading Comfortably This Week

At press time, the US dollar trades near the 134.00 mark against the Japanese yen (JPY) and around the 1.0170 mark against the euro (EUR). That said, the US Dollar Index (DXY) trades around neutral levels at 107.30. On a weekly basis, the index holds comfortably at 0.4% in profits.

Finally, a recent poll conducted by Reuters suggested that many traders believe the dollar’s strength has ample room for increase.

Meanwhile, the Bank of England (BoE) has implemented a 50 basis points (bps) rate hike, its most aggressive since 1995, in its interest rate hike decision earlier today.