The USD currency moved steadily as its index defended the 98-point area for a long time after the release of important economic data this week and speculation of an interest rate cut by the Bank of England (BOE), as the market is also currently assessing the latest statement by Fed Governor Christopher Waller.
At 9.45 am, the US Dollar Index (DXY) was at 98.427 points, up 0.04% since it opened in early trading Thursday in the Asian session.
Sterling is expected to suffer its biggest one-day decline as interest rate futures are at a near 100% chance of a quarter-point rate cut from the BoE on Thursday, opening a positive path for the US dollar.
Fed Governor Christopher Waller said on Wednesday that the US central bank still has room to cut interest rates, following signs of increasing weakness in the jobs market.
The statement contradicted the views of Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic, who believes the Fed's decision to cut interest rates last week was inappropriate.
He also expects no further reduction in borrowing costs in 2026, given his forecast that US economic growth will return to close to 2.5% while price pressures remain high.
Meanwhile, US Consumer Price Index (CPI) data is due at 9.30pm tonight (Thursday).
Markets are now focused on several major central bank policy decisions this week, including the Bank of England (BoE) and the European Central Bank (ECB) on Thursday, as well as the Bank of Japan (BoJ) which is expected to raise interest rates on Friday to their highest level in almost three decades.
