Business News

TOKYO,(APP/AFP): The dollar added to its
gains Monday after Federal Reserve boss Janet Yellen suggested an interest rate hike this year was still on the table.
In a speech Friday at the annual Jackson Hole symposium of central bankers, Yellen said that the case for a US rate hike had “strengthened”, sharply boosting the greenback.
But she did not give a clear signal on the timing of a possible increase, leaving markets in limbo again over when the US central bank would move, analysts said.
Dealers are now awaiting non-farm payrolls data this week, with a strong reading expected to bolster the case that the world’s top economy could withstand a rise in borrowing costs, possibly this year.
“After a week of guessing, Yellen left little to the imagination when she stated that the case of a Fed rate hike had strengthened, but remained very much data dependent,” said Stephen Innes, senior trader at forex firm OANDA Asia Pacific.
“After all was said and done, we are still left pondering the most
fundamental question, when will the Fed lift off.
“Given the proximity of the granddaddy of all Fed data, the non-farm
payrolls, it is without question that this week’s print will take on more
importance than usual,” Innes said in a commentary.
The dollar climbed to 102.16 yen on Monday in Tokyo from 101.77 yen in New York and 100.48 yen in Tokyo earlier Friday.
The US unit jumped 0.9 percent against the South Korean won and 0.7 percent against Malaysia’s ringgit, while it also rose on the Taiwan and Singapore dollars, Philippine peso, and Indonesian rupiah.