The dollar is set for monthly gains, Thursday, ahead of widely anticipated inflation data that could impact interest rate expectations, while the falling yen received support after a policymaker signaled the need to abandon ultra-easy monetary policies.
Bitcoin continued to fly far and exceeded $63,000 in early European trading, bringing its gains in February to about 50 percent, representing the largest monthly rise since December 2020, approaching its highest level ever above $69,000.
The yen was last trading at 149.87 to the dollar, down about two percent during the month.
It rose approximately 0.6 percent during the day after Bank of Japan board member Hajime Takata said he feels there is finally room for inflation to reach the bank’s target level of two percent, paving the way for abandoning negative interest rates.
The yen fell more than 2 percent against the euro this month and hit a nine-year low against the Australian and New Zealand dollars as investors profited by borrowing in yen at near-zero interest rates and selling it against currencies with higher interest rates.
The euro settled at $1.0835 and largely maintained its levels during the month, as was the case with the British pound, which was stable at $1.2665.
The New Zealand dollar fell to 0.6105 US dollars after falling 1.2 percent against the dollar one day ago when the central bank kept interest rates unchanged and surprised the markets with a downward revision of its interest expectations.
The Australian dollar rose 0.3 percent to $0.6516 on Thursday, but is heading for a monthly decline of 0.8 percent.
Data on the core personal consumption expenditures price index, the US Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation, is expected to be announced later Thursday, amid expectations that it will rise by 0.4 percent.
The dollar index recorded 103.86, without significant change.
2024-02-29 07:33:55
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