Dollar Steady Ahead of Jackson Hole, Yen Unchanged After BOJ's Himino Speech

The US dollar remained relatively stable on Thursday ahead of the Jackson Hole symposium, while the yen held steady after BOJ Deputy Governor Ryozo Himino's speech. Himino did not rule out a rate hike next month but stopped short of explicitly signaling one.

Market participants were looking for clues on the likelihood of a September rate hike and the scale and pace of further tightening. However, Himino's comments, although expressing concern about upside risks to prices, were seen as 'not especially dovish' by Sho Suzuki, a market analyst at Matsui Securities.

The yen was largely unchanged at 159.29 per dollar after Himino's speech. The euro was up 0.07% against the US dollar at $1.1657, while the British pound traded at $1.3592. The Australian dollar strengthened 0.22% to $0.7183.

The US Commerce Department data showed that the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index increased 3.7% in the 12 months through July, unchanged from June and slightly above the 3.6% estimate from economists polled by Reuters. This kept the market's expectation for a Fed rate hike by year-end alive.