MARKET SPEAK: DOLLAR INDEX HITS FOUR-MONTH LOW AS FED SIGNALS RATE CUTS IN 2024

Published on Dec 14, 2023 12:37

The dollar index fell below 102.5 on Thursday, sliding to its lowest levels in four months as the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady for the third straight meeting and signaled a total of 75 basis points of rate cuts in 2024. That is still less than market forecasts for a full percentage point rate reduction next year, but more aggressive than Fed officials had previously indicated. The central bank also said that inflation has �eased over the past year� while maintaining its description of prices as elevated. On the data front, US consumer and producer prices were little changed and came largely in line with expectations in November. The dollar weakened sharply across the board and tumbled to multi-month lows versus the Australian and New Zealand dollars and the Japanese yen.