Dollar Rises Against Major Counterparts Ahead Of Fed Policy Announcement

(RTTNews) - The U.S. dollar firmed against its major counterparts on Tuesday after President Donald Trump announced plans to impose tariffs on imported computer chips, pharmaceuticals, and steel, to encourage domestic production of these goods.

Traders also looked ahead to the monetary policy announcement from the Federal Reserve on Wednesday.

The Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged, but traders are likely to pay close attention to the accompanying statement for clues about the outlook for rates.

CME Group's FedWatch Tool is currently indicating a 74.5% chance rates will be lower by at least a quarter point following the Fed's June meeting.

In U.S. economic news, a report released by the Commerce Department said durable goods orders plunged by 2.2% in December after tumbling by a revised 2% in November. Economists had expected durable goods orders to climb by 0.8% compared to the 1.2% slump that had been reported for the previous month.

The Conference Board also released a report showing the consumer confidence index slid to 104.1 in January from an upwardly revised 109.5 in December. Economists had expected the consumer confidence index to climb to 106.3 from the 104.7 originally reported for the previous month.

The dollar index climbed to 108.05 before easing a bit to 107.92, still well above the flat line, gaining more than 0.5%.

Against the Euro, the dollar strengthened to 1.0431. Against Pound Sterling, the dollar firmed to 1.2445.

The dollar gained against the Japanese currency, fetching 155.53 yen a unit. Against the Aussie, the dollar firmed to 0.6252.

The dollar firmed against the Swiss currency, fetching CHF 0.9041 a unit. Against the Loonie, the dollar strengthened to C$ 1.4402.