Yesterday’s release of the most recent Federal Reserve minutes suggest that the U.S. central bank is keen on raising interest rates in 2015 and more, that the FOMC is relatively unconcerned about the greenback’s strength. As a consequence, the U.S. Dollar rose close to a fresh 7-year high against the Japanese Yen and FX traders are eyeing the 120.00 level in the near term. The Euro, struggling as it may be against the greenback, also managed to edge higher against the Yen in light of the Bank of Japan’s easing program. In the Eurozone, the latest PMI report showed weaker than expected business growth which highlights the need for additional easing from the European Central Bank.
As reported at 9:30 a.m. (GMT) in London, the USD/JPY was trading at 118.63 Yen, a gain of 0.6% and a rise of nearly 9% since about three weeks ago when the BOJ surprised markets with its plans for further expansion. The EUR/JPY was also pushed to a high of 149.120 Yen before it edged lower to 148.49 Yen. Meanwhile, the EUR/USD dipped to a session low of $1.2505 after the PMI release before recovering slightly to trade at $1.25085, still a loss of 0.4%.
No Surprise from Fed Minutes
The Fed minutes suggest that the path is unimpeded for the U.S. Dollar’s rise, though analysts note that the tone of this release was slightly more cautious than the Fed’s last meeting minutes which did give pause to some FX traders. Some analysts have expressed concern over the clear divergence in policy between the Fed and the majority of its peers. Ahead, markets will be watching for additional U.S. data, including personal inflation and jobless claims.