Dollar holds gains ahead of Fed policy signal, RBNZ decision

Kitco Media
By Reuters
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Updated:
Reuters
Dollar holds gains ahead of Fed policy signal, RBNZ decision teaser image

SINGAPORE, Oct 28 (Reuters) - The dollar held steady at a two-week high early on Wednesday ahead of a ​string of policy decisions from central banks, with the ‌Federal Reserve expected to leave rates unchanged while signalling whether a December move remains on the table.

Most of the greenback's peers were unmoved ​ahead of the Fed's decision. The euro was flat ​at $1.1129. The British pound was also unchanged at $1.3307. Against ⁠the yen , the dollar was 0.1% firmer at 158.03 ​yen.

The kiwi dollar was trading level at $0.5682 ahead of a decision ​from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ), at which it is widely expected to hike interest rates. Meanwhile, its Australian counterpart was 0.1% stronger at $0.7031 ​ahead of the release of CPI data for September.

Traders ​broadly expect no change in policy from the US central bank. Fed funds futures ‌are ⁠pricing an implied 91% probability the Federal Open Market Committee will keep interest rates on hold, according to the CME Group's FedWatch tool.

"The Fed doesn't need to hike today to ​move markets," said ​Chris Weston, ⁠head of research at Pepperstone Group Ltd in Melbourne. "It simply needs to change the perceived probability ​of hiking in December."

The dollar index , which ​measures the ⁠greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.3% to 102.40 on Tuesday, touching its highest level since October 14. ⁠The ​yield on the US 10-year Treasury ​bond was unchanged at 4.9967%.

In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin was flat at $80,736.07, while ether nudged ​up 0.1% to $2,345.25.

Reporting by Gregor Stuart Hunter; Editing by Jacqueline Wong

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