The US dollar advanced in late trading on Friday, as traders might have overreacted to the possibility of the US Federal Reserve’s cut of interest rates.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, was up 0.58% to 102.5523 in late trading.
The excitement surrounding the possibility of the Fed easing its grip on interest rates cooled down a bit after New York Fed President John Williams threw cold water on those hopes. He stressed that their priority remains to bring inflation under control and reach the 2% target before even considering lowering rates.
The economic activity in the US private sector continued to expand at a modest pace in early December, with the S&P Global’s US composite purchasing managers’ index (PMI) edging slightly higher to 51.0 from 50.7 in November. The manufacturing PMI remained in the contraction territory,…
