Dollar holds gains ahead of Fed policy signal, RBNZ decision

The dollar held steady at a two-week high early on Wednesday ahead of a string of policy decisions from central banks, with the Federal Reserve expected to leave rates unchanged while signalling whether a December move remains on the table.

Most of the greenback’s peers were unmoved ahead of the Fed’s decision. The euro was flat at US$1.1129. The British pound was also unchanged at US$1.3307. Against the yen, the dollar was 0.1% firmer at 158.03 yen.

The kiwi dollar was trading level at US$0.5682 ahead of a decision from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ), at which it is widely expected to hike interest rates. Meanwhile, its Australian counterpart was 0.1% stronger at US$0.7031 ahead of the release of CPI data for September.

Traders broadly expect no change in policy from the US central bank. Fed funds futures are pricing an implied 91% probability the Federal Open Market Committee will keep interest rates on hold, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool.

“The Fed doesn’t need to hike today to move markets,” said Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone Group Ltd in Melbourne. “It simply needs to change the perceived probability of hiking in December.”

The dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.3% to 102.40 on Tuesday, touching its highest level since Oct 14. The yield on the US 10-year Treasury bond was unchanged at 4.9967%.

In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin was flat at US$80,736.07, while ether nudged up 0.1% to US$2,345.25.