The dollar hit new highs against other major currencies on Thursday, buoyed by further US Federal Reserve (Fed) rate hikes that are expected to continue as central bankers meet in Japan, Switzerland and the UK .
Around 08:35 GMT (10:35 a.m. in Paris), the greenback caught its breath: against the euro, it yielded 0.38% to 0.9875 dollars, after climbing to 0.9809 dollars, a peak since October 2002. The Fed raised rates by 0.75 percentage points, the third consecutive hike of this magnitude, and its chairman, Jerome Powell, showed determination to continue this rapid tightening to counter inflation.
"
The rate hike was in line with market expectations, but future hikes implied by the Fed's economic projections are faster than expected.
“, explains Mark Haefele, analyst at UBS.
The Japanese currency recovered 1.10% to 142.50 yen per dollar after sinking below the symbolic threshold of 145 yen for the first time since 1998. Conversely, in Japan, the Central Bank maintained its ultra monetary policy - accommodating.
But the Japanese government claimed to have intervened in the foreign exchange market to support the yen.
The Swiss central bank, for its part, followed in the footsteps of the Fed by raising its rate by 0.75 points, on positive ground, but showed itself to be less determined for its next meetings.
As a result, the Swiss franc fell 0.82% to 0.9745 Swiss francs to the dollar.
Read alsoThe Bank of Japan's monetary status quo propels the dollar beyond 145 yen
Finally, the Bank of England must make its monetary policy decision public on Thursday and investors are divided on the extent of the increase that the monetary institute will adopt.
“
We expect an increase of 50 basis points
” but “
there are reasons to think that the Monetary Policy Council will act in a more determined way
”, recognizes Derek Halpenny, analyst at MUFG.
The gloomy outlook for the British economy continues to weigh on the pound, which hit a new low since 1985 at $1.1212 at the start of the session before recovering and gaining 0.55% to $1.1332.
