The dollar is ticking up on Wednesday.
The US dollar index is up by 0.2% at 99.69 as of 8:07 a.m. ET.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told the Financial Times that US President Donald Trump is “absolutely not” trying to talk down the strong dollar.
This follows comments from Trump last week when he told the Wall Street Journal the “dollar is getting too strong, and partially that’s my fault because people have confidence in me.”
Separately, Fed rate-hike odds are falling. The market now sees a 43.7% chance of a Fed hike in June or sooner, down from expectations of 66.5% a week earlier.
As for the rest of the world, here's the scoreboard as of 8:24 a.m. ET:
- The euro is little changed at 1.0722 against the dollar after data showed that Euro-area inflation slowed. Annual inflation came in at 1.5% in March, down from the 2% reading in February, according to Eurostat. Transport fuels (+0.48%) had the biggest upward impact, while telecommunication and package holidays (both -0.09%) had the biggest downward impact. The British pound is little changed at 1.2854 against the dollar, but is holding on to its gains from Tuesday. "GBP/USD is backing away from the 1.2860 high from earlier in the session today, but after a 300-point jump in GBP/USD since yesterday the market is poised to take a breather," Kathleen Brooks of City Index wrote in an email. The Russian ruble is little changed to 56.2039 per dollar, while Brent crude oil, the international benchmark, is little changed at $54.89 per barrel. The Japanese yen is down by 0.5% at 109.02 per dollar.