Fed Moves Forward With Rate Cuts, Dollar Hits High Against Euro – 31 July, 2019

The dollar rose to highs against the yen and the euro when Jerome Powell, Chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, said that the first rate cut since the financial crisis would not be a lengthy process. Rates will be cut by 25 basis points to ease up pressure put on by ongoing trade tensions that have been weighing on the economy. Against a basket of major currencies, the dollar index was just under Wednesdays two year hight of 98.683, last standing at 98.516. The euro hit its lowest since May 2017, falling 0.2% to $1.1052, while the dollar gained 0.4% against the yen to a two month high of 109.165 yen. Sterling tumbled to an almost two year low, shedding 0.2% to $1.2120 after dropping 4.2% last month for its worst performance since 2016.