US Dollar Index rallies as Warsh boosts September hike odds
The US Dollar Index (DXY) rallies on Friday, gaining 0.36% to trade around 99.50 at the time of writing, as Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Kevin Warshs hawkish remarks at the Jackson Hole Symposium prompt investors to sharply reassess the outlook for US interest rates. The US Dollar (USD) gains ground after Warsh stresses that price stability should remain the central bank‘s predominant focus. The Fed Chair said policymakers need to be confident that underlying inflation is moving toward the central bank’s objective and warned that they still “have work to do” if this is not the case. On inflation, Warsh acknowledged that data released during the summer have been better than expected but said they are not sufficient to demonstrate a meaningful shift in underlying price dynamics. He reiterated that the Feds 2% Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) inflation target remains “firm and fixed.” At the same time, the Fed Chair offered an upbeat assessment of the United States (US) economy. Warsh said economic activity appears to have strengthened, describing consumer spending as healthy and the labor market as stable, while pointing to rapidly increasing business investment. The combination of resilient economic activity and persistent inflation concerns triggered a significant repricing of monetary policy expectations.









