Dollar Gains Against Some Major Counterparts Ahead Of Fed Minutes

(RTTNews) - The U.S. dollar gained against some of its major counterparts on Tuesday, as comments from some Fed officials hinted at the possibility of the central bank holding interest rates higher for longer time.

Traders awaited the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting for clues about the outlook for interest rates.

Fed Vice Chair Philip Jefferson said on Monday that it is difficult to tell if the slowdown in inflation is "long lasting."

Vice Chair Michael Barr stated in a speech that the Fed's restrictive policy would need "some further time to continue to do its work."

Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said that prices will drop at a slower pace than many had expected.

According to CME Group's FedWatch Tool, the likelihood that interest rates will be lower by September have fallen to 76.3% from close to 90% last week.

The dollar index climbed to 104.77 before easing to 104.64, still remaining above the flat line.

Against the Euro, the dollar gained slightly at 1.0855, and against Pound Sterling, weakened a bit to 1.2710.

The dollar eased against the Japanese currency, weakening marginally to 156.19 yen. The Aussie was down slightly against the U.S. dollar, at US$0.6665.

The dollar edged up slightly against Swiss franc to CHF 0.9109. Against the Loonie, the dollar firmed to C$1.3653.