SINGAPORE, June 16 Reuters The dollar found some footing in Asia on Thursday as initial relief that the Federal Reserve did not go further than expected in hiking rates began to fade in the face of an aggressive outlook.
Markets had anticipated the Fed39;s 75 basis point hike on Wednesday and priced in several more after a surprisingly hot inflation reading last week. But the dollar lurched lower after Chairman Jerome Powell39;s news conference, before pausing during Asia trade.
It last bought a euro at 1.0440 and drew support from U.S. Treasury yields, which fell sharply on Wednesday, but began ticking higher again on Thursday.
The dollar rose 0.4 to 134.25 yen as the Fed39;s hike path is in stark contrast to the Bank of Japan39;s determination to pin Japanese interest rates near zero.
The Australian dollar struggled to add much to a Wednesday surge, even as jobs figures came in stronger than forecast. It was last up 0.2 at 0.7016.
The dollar index , which made a twodecade high of 105.79 on Wednesday, traded at 104.96.
The dollar index39;s reversal along with rates after the Fed lifted rates 75 bp speaks to elevated short term expectations more than anything else, Westpac analysts said in a note.
It could ease back to the low104s near term, before the uptrend resumes. Chair Powell outlined a resolute path for taking Fed Funds to just shy of 4 by 2023, surely keeping risky assets unsettled for an extended period … the index can make a run at 107 in Q3.
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