The dollar stabilizes before a series of central bank meetings, by Reuters

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – The dollar held steady on Monday, pulling away from its lowest level in eight months ahead of a series of central bank meetings this week, including one of the US Federal Reserve, with traders firmly focused on guiding the path of higher interest rates.

The American dollar, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, rose 0.03 percent to 101.92, moving away from the eight-month low it hit last week at 101.50.

But it is still on track to record a fourth consecutive monthly loss of 1.5 percent, weighed down by expectations that the Federal Reserve is nearing the end of its interest rate hike cycle and that interest rates will not rise as previously feared.

The pound rose 0.01 percent to 1.24005 against the dollar, while the New Zealand dollar rose 0.09 percent to 0.6500 dollars.

The Federal Reserve is widely expected to raise interest rates by 25 basis points, while the European Central Bank and the Bank of England are likely to raise interest rates by 50 basis points each.

It recorded an increase of 0.03 percent to 1.08705 against the dollar and is on its way to achieving monthly gains of approximately 1.5 percent, to record a rise for the fourth consecutive month.

(Prepared by Hassan Ammar for the Arabic Bulletin)