LONDON, Aug 25 (Reuters) – The dollar was steady on Thursday as investors stayed on the sidelines before the annual global central bankers’ gathering in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen may offer new pointers on USA monetary policy. Yields and debt prices move in opposite directions; a basis point is a hundredth of a basis point.
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George joins Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan, FOMC Vice Chair Stanley Fischer and New York Fed President William Dudley on the list of Fed officials calling for rate hikes. “Net, it could turn out to be “one and a massive pause”.
Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen will be a key speaker and any indication a US rate rise is coming would likely be bad for gold as the metal traditionally moves counter to interest movements.
“We expect technically inspired sideways trading today and probably even into Yellen’s speech on Friday”, wrote analysts at KBC Bank in Brussels.
Futures markets were on indicating an 21 percent chance the Fed will hike rates at its policy meeting next month and a roughly 50 percent chance of an increase in December, according to CME Group (Kuala Lumpur: 7018.KL – news) ‘s FedWatch. The central banks will gather in the mountain resort of Jackson Hole later this week.
Data on Thursday showed the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week, suggesting the labor market was continuing to gain momentum.
At 9:38 a.m. ET the Dow Jones industrial average .DJI was up 93.14 points, or 0.5 percent, at 18,622.56.
Wall Street has been on a record-setting run due to continued expectations for low rates, coupled with upbeat corporate earnings and strong economic data.
USA stocks rose modestly on Tuesday, as gains in the tech sector helped buoy the Nasdaq to a record intraday high and solid housing market data provided more evidence the economy may be picking up momentum.
Eight of the 10 major S&P 500 indexes were lower, led by the consumer discretionary sector’s .SPLRCD 0.27 percent drop.
The dollar inched 0.2 percent higher to 100.45 yen nudging below 100 yen overnight to 99.925.
Tiffany TIF.N rose 5.6 percent to $72.67 after the jeweler reported an unexpected rise in quarterly profit.
Shares of Mylan rose 3.7 per cent to $44.74 in premarket trading after the drugmaker said it would offer discounts to reduce patient cost for its severe allergy treatment drug EpiPen.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by 1,780 to 1,010.
The euro rose to US$1.1330 from US$1.1322, while edging down to 113.55 yen from 113.58 yen.
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The S&P 500 posted 28 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 147 new highs and 15 new lows.
