Dollar pauses after rallying to one-year high earlier in week

Dollar pauses after rallying to one-year high earlier in week

TOKYO - The dollar touched its lowest this week against major peers on Thursday, taking a breather from a rally that had lifted it to a one-year high powered by expectations for quicker Federal Reserve interest rate hikes. The dollar index, which measures the currency against six rivals, was about flat at 94.016, after dropping 0.53% on Wednesday, the most since Aug. 23. The index reached 94.563 on Tuesday, its highest since late September 2020, after surging nearly 3% since early last month. The dollar pulled back even after minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee's September meeting confirmed tapering of stimulus is all but certain to start this year, and showed a growing number of policymakers worried that high inflation could persist. A Labor Department report showed U.S. consumer prices rose solidly in September, and they are likely to rise further amid a surge in energy prices, potentially pressuring the Fed to act sooner to normalise policy. The U.S. 5-year, 5-year-forward breakeven inflation rate , one of the more closely followed gauges of long-term inflation expectations, surged to its highest level in seven years at 2.59% overnight. Most Fed officials, including Chair Jerome Powell, have so far contended that