US Dollar Strengthens as Fed Rate Hike Expectations Surge
The US Dollar (USD) has strengthened to a near two-week high of around 99.60 in early European trading on Tuesday, driven by surging oil prices and hotter US inflation data.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) accelerated in August, and the Producer Price Index (PPI) readings were strong across several components, reinforcing expectations for a 25 basis point interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve (Fed) at its September meeting on Wednesday.
According to the CME FedWatch tool, traders are pricing in a more than 92% chance of a 25 bps rate hike, which is expected to further strengthen the USD.