The US dollar held firm at its five-week high on cooled interest rate drop forecasts
The greenback traded close to a five-week high on Thursday following solid U.S. retail sales figures that heightened projections that Fed won't cut interest rates soon as expected earlier.
The US dollar index that gauges the greenback versus its major pairs muted at 103.33 post hitting 103.69 a level not seen since last December on the 13th.
The market continues to factor in approximately 145 basis points of reductions by year-end, despite recent actions by Fed officials to temper expectations of a swift easing of policy.
EUR/USD steadied at $1.0881, after recovering five-week low of $1.08445 on Wednesday, buoyed by ECB’s president remarks to Bloomberg, that there would likely be majority support among ECB officials for an interest rate cut in the summer.
GBP/USD added 0.1% at $1.26889, continuing gains after a surge on Wednesday that revealed December's inflation unexpectedly increased, bolstering projections that BOE will reduce rates more slowly compared to rivals.
USD/JPY edged down by 0.2% at 147.778 yen.
