Dollar fell in European trade on Thursday against a basket of major rivals away from one-week high, on track for the first loss in six days on profit-taking.
The latest Federal Reserve’s meeting minutes were more bullish than expected, showing that many officials are still dismissive of any steps towards policy easing.
Now investors await important US data on major economic sectors, in addition to unemployment claims data.
The Index
The dollar index fell 0.2% to 104.72, with a session-high at 104.96.
The index closed Wednesday up 0.3%, the fifth profit in a row, marking a week high at 104.97.
Fed’s Minutes
The minutes showed that Fed officials are concerned about the suitable timing of a rate cut, with several members expressing concerns about consumers using riskier financing methods to cover costs due to inflation.
Fed officials pointed to the persistent risks of inflation, with factors including geopolitical events, and they focused on the impact on consumers, especially low-income workers.
The Fed recently announced a decision to maintain interest rates unchanged at below 5.5% at the May meeting.
US Rates
Following the release of the minutes, the odds of a July Fed interest rate cut fell to 16%, while the odds of a September rate cut fell to 57%.
According to the Fedwatch tool, investors now only expect one interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve this year.
Important Data
Later today, US unemployment claims data will be released, expected to have fallen slightly to 220 thousand in the week ending May 17 from 222 thousand.
The US manufacturing PMI is expected up slightly to 50.1 in May, while the services PMI is expected at 51.2, barely down from 51.3 in April.
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