Most Asian currencies kept to a tight range on Friday, while the dollar rebounded from 3-\u00bd month lows in anticipation of more cues on interest rates from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.<\/p>\n
Regional currencies cooled slightly after a stellar rally through November, amid growing conviction that the Fed was done raising interest rates. The central bank is now widely expected to begin trimming rates in 2024, with markets now seeking more cues on the timing of the rate cuts.<\/p>\n
Some mixed economic readings from Asia also provided middling cues to markets.\u00a0China\u2019s yuan<\/a><\/span>\u00a0was flat after a\u00a0private survey<\/a><\/span>\u00a0showed that manufacturing activity rebounded unexpectedly in November.<\/p>\n But the reading contrasted with\u00a0official data<\/a><\/span>\u00a0released on Thursday, which showed a sustained contraction in the manufacturing sector.<\/p>\n The\u00a0Australian dollar<\/a><\/span>\u00a0inched higher as data showed\u00a0manufacturing activity<\/a><\/span>\u00a0contracted as expected in November. Focus was now on a\u00a0Reserve Bank of Australia<\/a><\/span>\u00a0meeting next week, where the central bank is widely expected to keep rates on hold amid easing inflation.<\/p>\n South Korea\u2019s won<\/a><\/span>\u00a0was muted following mixed\u00a0trade<\/a><\/span>\u00a0and\u00a0manufacturing data<\/a><\/span>, while the\u00a0Indian rupee<\/a><\/span>\u00a0remained close to record lows, even as data showed the\u00a0Indian economy grew faster than expected<\/a><\/span>\u00a0in the September quarter.<\/p>\n A\u00a0Reserve Bank of India<\/a><\/span>\u00a0meeting is also on tap next week, with the bank set to hold rates steady.<\/p>\n Uncertainty over the Fed\u2019s potential pivot helped the dollar recover sharply from its lowest levels since mid-August.<\/p>\n Overnight data also showed that the\u00a0PCE price index<\/a><\/span>– the Fed\u2019s preferred inflation gauge- remained comfortably above the central bank\u2019s 2% target in October.<\/p>\n The\u00a0dollar index<\/a><\/span>\u00a0and\u00a0dollar index futures<\/a><\/span>\u00a0fell slightly in Asian trade, after surging 0.7% on Thursday.<\/p>\n Powell is set to speak at two separate events on Friday, with any changes to the Fed Chair\u2019s rhetoric largely in focus after several other Fed officials suggested that the central bank was done raising interest rates.<\/p>\n Powell has largely maintained the rhetoric that rates will remain higher for longer, although that trend will also depend on the path of inflation. Several Fed members noted this week that inflation had fallen substantially this year, although it still remained above the central bank\u2019s target range.<\/p>\n The dollar was also nursing steep losses for November, amid growing conviction that the Fed was done raising interest rates. Asian currencies had rallied through the month on the same notion.<\/p>\n Source: https:\/\/www.investing.com\/news\/forex-news\/asia-fx-muted-dollar-rebounds-before-powell-speech-3247339<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Most Asian currencies kept to a tight range on Friday, while the dollar rebounded from 3-\u00bd month lows in anticipation of more cues on interest rates from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Regional currencies cooled slightly after a stellar rally through November, amid growing conviction that the Fed was done raising interest rates. The central […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1144,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1143","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","wpautop"],"translation":{"provider":"WPGlobus","version":"2.10.10","language":"nl","enabled_languages":["en","nl","es","sv","fr"],"languages":{"en":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"nl":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false},"es":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false},"sv":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false},"fr":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false}}},"yoast_head":"\r\nDollar steady after rebounding from 3-\u00bd month lows, Powell awaited<\/h3>\n