Dollar soars after Fed sticks to high interest rate policy

The US dollar continued its rally against a basket of major currencies on Friday, benefiting from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s statement that the central bank is in no rush to cut interest rates.

This followed the dollar’s best daily gain in three weeks on Thursday, as the Fed’s signals reinforced its strong position in markets, according to Reuters.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback’s performance against a basket of six major currencies, rose 0.21% to 104.01, after gaining 0.36% on Thursday.

The index touched a five-month low of 103.19 this week, retreating from its January peak of 110.17 amid growing concerns that US President Donald Trump’s aggressive trade policies could push the US economy into recession.

The Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged at its last meeting, indicating that it still expects to cut them twice this year, the same forecast it announced three months ago.