FILE PHOTO: Woman holds U.S. dollar banknotes in this illustration taken May 30, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
At the conclusion of the Fed's policy meeting on Wednesday, Chair Jerome Powell said recent high inflation rate readings had not changed the underlying"story" of slowly easing price pressures in the U.S. as the central bank stayed on track for three rate cuts this year, even though it projected slightly slower progress on inflation.
"The Fed really, really wants its soft-landing ending. Stronger growth, lower unemployment, higher inflation - and yet still no change to the median dot," said Seema Shah, chief global strategist at Principal Asset Management. With the Fed meeting out of the way, focus now turns to a rate decision from the Bank of England later on Thursday, where expectations are for the central bank to keep rates on hold.
Elsewhere, the New Zealand dollar was last 0.08 per cent higher at $0.6087, though gains were capped by domestic data showing New Zealand's economy shrank slightly in the fourth quarter, putting the country into a technical recession.