The Federal Reserve announcement and Janet Yellen’s speech afterwards weren’t as clear cut as some market players might have like but it was enough to provide the U.S. Dollar with a strong surge, suggesting that most investors felt the Fed was on a hawkish path given its future interest rate projections were higher than the previous read. Across the pond, the Pound Sterling is under significant pressure with volatility up as much as 35% as Scottish voters decide whether or not to break up the centuries old United Kingdom by splitting off.
As reported at 8:07 a.m. (BDT) in London, the U.S. Dollar Index had earlier traded higher at 84.814 .DXY, a level unseen in more than four years; currently the index is trading at 84.5680 .DXY. Separately, USD/JPY was trading close to a 6-year peak at 108.87 Yen, while the EUR/USD traded at $1.2867, recovering slightly from the trading session low of $1.2834, a fresh 14-month trough.
Scottish Voters Take to Polls
In Scotland, the latest polls suggest that a no vote against independence may be gaining favor among Scottish voters, with 53% saying that they would stay in the United Kingdom, however that is still a statistical dead heat and as such, the Pound Sterling remains under wary pressure with the GBP/USD trading at $1.6291. The voting outcome is not unexpected until Friday morning.