Dollar Rises Against Major Counterparts

(RTTNews) - The U.S. dollar climbed higher on Wednesday on speculation the Federal Reserve will not deliver a big interest rate cut at the next policy meeting.

Soft U.K. inflation data that resulted in a drop in Pound Sterling's value, and a weak euro ahead of the monetary policy meeting of the European Central Bank supported the greenback.

The dollar rose on rising bets for a second Donald Trump presidency and expectations the Federal Reserve will proceed with modest interest rate cuts.

Markets currently see a 95% chance of a 25 basis point rate cut from the Fed next month after an aggressive 50 basis point cut in September.

In economic news, data from the Labor Department said import prices fell by 0.4% in September after slipping by a revised 0.2% in August. The decline matched economist estimates.

Compared to the same month a year ago, import prices edged down by 0.1%, marking the first year-over-year decrease since February.

The report also said export prices slid by 0.7% in September after slumping by a revised 0.9% in August. Economists had expected export prices to fall by 0.4%.

The dollar index, which climbed to 103.61, was last seen at 103.55, up 0.28% from the previous close.

Against the Euro, the dollar firmed to 1.0861 from 1.0892.

The dollar strengthened to 1.2987 against Pound Sterling, gaining from 1.3074, after U.K. inflation fell below the 2% target and also hit the lowest in more than three years in September, piling pressure on the Bank of England to ease policy at the November meeting.

Against the Japanese currency, the dollar advanced to 149.65 yen from 149.22 yen. The dollar firmed to 0.6665 against the Aussie, from the previous close of 0.6704 a unit of the Australian currency.

The Swiss franc weakened to 0.8655 a dollar from 0.8621, while the Loonie gained against the dollar, firming to C$1.3755.