Greenback is struggling today as it looks as though the Federal Reserve’s low-rate policy will remain in effect for some time. Janet Yellen’s testimony before Congress has many looking toward the future, and trying to figure out how the Fed’s tapering efforts will proceed.
Janet Yellen is the new Chair of the Federal Reserve, and she is making her first remarks to Congress in that capacity today. She has stressed that a low-rate policy is expected for quite sometime — even after the unemployment rate falls below 6.4 per cent. Yellen also made it clear that the Fed’s tapering policy wasn’t set in stone, and that its pace would be decided by economic progress.
The result of her remarks so far has been a lower dollar. The greenback is struggling against some of its major counterparts (although it has gained the upper hand against the euro), and gold prices are higher on the expectations of continued dollar weakness. The news is helping stocks, though.
At 14:45 GMT the US dollar index is at 80.6280, which is slightly lower than the previous close of 80.6420. EUR/USD has lost ground, dropping to 1.3638 from the open at 1.3646. GBP/USD is up to 1.6436 from the open at 1.6407. USD/JPY is up to 102.3950 from the open at 102.1875.
If you have any questions, comments or opinions regarding the US Dollar,
feel free to post them using the commentary form below.