Dollar Continues To Slide Against Major Rivals
(RTTNews) - The U.S. dollar fell against most its major counterparts on Wednesday amid rising speculation the Federal Reserve will slowdown the pace of its interest rate hikes.
Recent data showed manufacturing and services sector activity in the U.S. slowed down significantly, and data released today showed U.S. consumer confidence ebbed in October and home prices fell sharply in August, adding to signs that the Fed's aggressive tightening stance was starting to cool the world's largest economy.
Now, investors are pricing in a smaller rate hike in December after a 75 basis point increase in November. Already, a few Fed officials have softened their stance on tightening.
The dollar index dropped to 109.63, giving up more than 1.2% from the previous close.
Against the Euro, the dollar weakened to 1.0083 from Tuesday's close of 0.9968.
The dollar is trading at 1.1625 against Pound Sterling, easing from 1.1472.
Against the Japanese currency, the dollar is weaker by more than 1%, fetching 146.39 yen a unit, down from the previous close of 147.93 yen.
Against the Aussie, the dollar down sharply with the AUD/USD pair trading at 0.6491.
The Swiss franc is stronger at 0.9863 a dollar, firming from 0.9947.
The dollar is down against the Loonie at C$1.3557, weakening from C$1.3608. The Canadian central bank, citing elevated inflation, announced its sixth consecutive interest rate increase of the year this morning. However, the hike, at 50 basis points, turned out to be less than economists' expectations of a 75 basis point increase.
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