USD set to strengthen as September rate hike nears – BTMU

FXStreet (Barcelona) - Lee Hardman, Currency Analyst at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, expects the Fed to hike rates in September, and the economic data releases ahead in the US to support the USD and US growth.

Key Quotes

“The report clearly highlights that the US labour market continues to improve solidly providing further reassurance that the underlying health of the US economy is more favourable than the exaggerated weakness displayed in the Q1 GDP report.”

“A return to more solid economic growth appears increasingly likely in Q2. The release of the latest US retail sales report released in the week ahead is expected to reveal that personal consumption is beginning to pick up as well after domestic vehicle sales reached their highest rate since early 2006.”

“The latest economic reports are likely to make the Fed feel more comfortable about raising rates this year which could be delivered as soon as September.”

“It was the message delivered by Fed Vice-Chair Dudley late on Friday who stated that the Fed is still likely to raise rates this year. Continued job gains are making him more confident about inflation although he is not sure if the pace of economic growth will be sufficient to sustain the current pace of job gains.”

“We remain comfortable with our view that the US dollar will likely strengthen further heading into the first Fed rate hike.”

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