Dollar Up Ahead of the Fed Minutes Release

© Reuters

By Gina Lee

Investing.com – The dollar was up on Wednesday morning in Asia as investors awaited minutes from the last U.S. Federal Reserve meeting.

The U.S. Dollar Index that tracks the greenback against a basket of other currencies inched up 0.09% to 101.968 by 1:07 PM ET (5:07 AM GMT).

The USD/JPY pair edged up 0.11% to 126.96.

The AUD/USD pair edged up 0.15% to 0.7114, the NZD/USD pair gained 0.67% to 0.6507. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand raised the interest rate from 1.5% to 2.0% as Investing.com expected. But it released more hawkish guidance on its future policy path, saying that a larger and earlier could reduce the risk of inflation becoming persistent.

The USD/CNY pair gained 0.26% to 6.6708, while the GBP/USD pair inched up 0.05% to 1.2535.

The euro declined 0.22% to $1.07105 but remained near Tuesday’s high of $1.0748, a level not seen since April 25. European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde’s comments said eurozone interest rates will likely be in positive territory by the end of the third quarter, which gave the euro support.

Lagarde’s comments implied an increase of at least 50 basis points to the deposit rate and triggered speculation of bigger hikes this summer.

U.S. 10-year Treasury yield edged up to 2.7631%, after dipping to a nearly one-month low of 2.718% overnight.

Investors are keeping an eye on the monetary policy outlook with worries of a potential recession caused by the tightening monetary policies. The minutes from the last Fed meeting will be released later today, investors are expecting more clues on whether the tightening would continue.

However, Fed Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic, one of the central bank’s dovish policymakers, warned that headlong rate hikes could create “significant economic dislocation” and urged the Fed to tighten policy with care and avoid “recklessness” in an essay published on Tuesday.

“It is unclear whether we are getting closer to the Fed put, but it is clear that growth headwinds are becoming more evident,”  National Australia Bank markets economist Tapas Strickland wrote in a client note.

“The Fed of course remains focused on inflation, but if inflation reads were (to) start to moderate, then Bostic has opened up the possibility of a Fed pause.”

In the Asia Pacific, the Bank of Korea will release its interest rate decision on Thursday.

In cryptocurrency, bitcoin consolidated around $30,000.