© Reuters. US dollar banknotes in an illustrative photo from Reuters archive.
LONDON/SINGAPORE (Reuters) – It rose on Wednesday amid quiet trading as investors awaited the monetary policy decision of the Federal Reserve (the US Central Bank) scheduled for next week, while it fell from near the highest level in nine months.
The euro fell 0.12 percent against the dollar to $1.088, just below the $1.093 level it reached on Friday, which was the highest level since early May.
The dollar rose 0.1 against the yen, recording 130.28 yen per dollar, after hitting an eight-month low of 127.22 yen per dollar on January 16.
Low global energy prices and the resulting slowdown in inflation in advanced economies have led to speculation that the Federal Reserve and other central banks will soon stop raising interest rates.
As a result of these expectations, the dollar index, which had risen on the back of the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hike last year, fell more than 11 percent from a 20-year high hit in September at 114.78.
The index rose 0.11 percent to 102.02 on Wednesday.
The pound fell 0.23 percent to $1,231.
Investors widely expect the US central bank to raise interest rates by 25 basis points next Wednesday, compared to an increase of 50 basis points in December.
The Australian dollar recorded the highest level in more than five months on Wednesday, supported by inflation data that exceeded expectations, as it boosted expectations of the Australian Central Bank raising interest rates.
The Australian dollar rose in the latest trading 0.81 percent to 0.71 US dollars.
Meanwhile, the New Zealand dollar fell 0.32% to $0.649, after New Zealand’s annual inflation of 7.2% in the fourth quarter came in below the central bank’s forecast of 7.5%.
(Prepared by Amira Zahran for the Arabic Bulletin – Edited by Duaa Muhammad)
