Dollar Rises in Asian Trading... What’s the Reason?

The dollar increased in Asian trading on Thursday after the Federal Reserve indicated a rate hike later this year, while the currencies of China and New Zealand fell amid signs of economic downturn. The dollar index rose 0.28 percent to 103.21, recovering from a four-week low of 102.66 recorded on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged but signaled that borrowing costs would increase by another 50 basis points by the end of December. The euro dropped 0.12 percent to 1.0818 dollars but rose 0.35 percent against the Japanese yen to 152.26 yen. The yen also declined against the dollar, decreasing by 0.46 percent to 140.735. The New Zealand dollar fell 0.68 percent to 0.6170 dollars after data showed that the New Zealand economy slipped into recession in the first quarter. The Chinese yuan decreased by 0.1 percent, touching 7.1872 against the dollar, the weakest level since November, following the People's Bank of China's first interest rate cut for medium-term loans in ten months. Market attention is now shifting to the decisions of other central banks later this week.