Dollar Rises on Possibility of More Fed Rate Hikes

Investing.com - The dollar inched up on Friday, as investors turned their focus to the G20 summit that kicks off later in the day in Argentina.

The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six major currencies, rose 0.22% to 96.91 as of 5:19 AM ET (10:19 GMT).

U.S. President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping are expected to meet on the sidelines of the G20 summit this weekend. It remains uncertain if the two will actually make a deal, with Trump still planning to implement an increase in tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods on Jan. 1.

Investors were also focused on possible rate hikes from the Federal Reserve. Fed meeting minutes released on Thursday showed the central bank is expecting to hike interest rates but did not give a timeline.

The minutes were released a day after Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said that the current level of rates is “just below” neutral, which investors read as a sign that the pace of further hikes might be slower.

The dollar was higher against the safe-heaven Japanese yen, with USD/JPY rising 0.04% to 113.53. In times of uncertainty, investors tend to invest in the Japanese yen, which is considered a safe asset during periods of risk aversion.

The euro was also lower on disappointing German retail sales, with EUR/USD falling 0.27% to 1.1362. Retail sales in Germany fell 0.3% to a three-month low, compared to estimates of a 0.4% increase.

The pound remained lower, with GBP/USD falling to 1.2752 amid continued Brexit worries.

Elsewhere, NZD/USD was flat at 0.6858, while AUD/USD was down 0.27% to 0.7298.

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