Dollar Strengthens As Bank Of England Signals No Rate Hike Till 2015

Washington (August 13)  The dollar rallied to its highest since June versus the sterling and held recent gains against the euro after the Bank of  England  signaled it would hold off on hiking interests.

The BoE said it will hike rates rates early in 2015, but only if wage growth in the  UK  picks up. From there, any interest rate hike will be only gradual.

The dollar rose to  USD1.6690  versus the sterling, emerging from this week's tight trading range.

The  UK  unemployment rate continued to fall as expected by economists, hitting the lowest since late 2008, data from the  Office for National Statistics  revealed.

Markets also weighed a flurry of economic data from the euro zone.

A leading economic indicator for the German economy declined in June after increasing in recent months, the Conference Board reported.  The Conference Board  leading economic index fell 0.1% month-on-month in June, reversing the revised 0.1% increase in May.

Meanwhile, German inflation eased as estimated to its lowest level since early 2010, final data from Destatis showed.

Eurozone industrial production declined for the second straight month in June, figures from Eurostat showed. On a monthly basis, industrial production dropped 0.3%.

The dollar held at  USD1.3370  versus the euro near its recent 9-month highs.

Modest gains took the dollar to  Y102.50  versus the yen, but the pair remains little changed from the start of the year.

Source: AllianceNews