Share

Dollar gains on September rate hike hopes

Tokyo - The dollar rose against the euro and yen on Monday as upbeat US data kept hopes for an interest rate rise as early as next month.

In Tokyo afternoon trade, the greenback bought ¥124.38, up from ¥124.32 in New York on Friday.

The euro slipped to $1.1097 and ¥138.03, from $1.1112 and ¥138.14 in US trading last week.

Sentiment got a lift on Friday as solid US industrial production, wholesale prices and July retail sales data all signalled the world's top economy was strengthening.

The numbers boosted expectations the US Federal Reserve could be set to raise its key interest rate for the first time in almost a decade as early as September - a plus for the dollar.

"With a September Fed hike priced around a 50% probability, any developments that suggest a change in timing are being acted upon," Sam Tuck, a senior currency strategist at ANZ Bank New Zealand, told Bloomberg News.

Calm was returning to currency markets after China spooked investors last week by devaluing the yuan and moving to a new system for calculating its daily trading reference rate.

The surprise move, followed by two days of major cuts, fanned fears of a currency war in which countries push down the value of their units to lift exports.

"The guts of the devaluation orchestrated by the People's Bank of China... is probably behind us," National Australia Bank said in a commentary.

"Fixation with the daily (yuan) fix threatens to quickly become 'so last week'. We should now quickly return to fretting about the Fed."

The dollar gained ground against other Asia-Pacific units.

The dollar rose to Sg$1.4083 from Sg$1.4025 on Friday, to 46.28 Philippine pesos from 46.25 pesos, to 35.35 Thai baht from 35.26 baht and to 1 182.00 South Korean won from 1 177.32 won.

The greenback also advanced to 65.20 Indian rupees from 65.14 rupees, to Tw$32.32 from Tw$32.20 and to 13 855 Indonesian rupiah from 13 766 rupiah.

The Australian dollar edged up to 73.75 US cents from 73.72c on Friday, while the yuan fetched ¥19.44 against ¥19.43.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
19.25
-0.5%
Rand - Pound
23.94
-0.5%
Rand - Euro
20.50
-0.5%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.35
-0.4%
Rand - Yen
0.12
-0.6%
Platinum
947.60
-0.3%
Palladium
1,022.00
-0.7%
Gold
2,381.98
+0.1%
Silver
28.29
+0.2%
Brent Crude
87.11
-0.2%
Top 40
66,617
-0.9%
All Share
72,665
-0.8%
Resource 10
62,846
-0.7%
Industrial 25
97,603
-0.8%
Financial 15
15,345
-0.9%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders