During today's Asian trading, the US dollar declined slightly against major currencies, while experts warn that trading activity on the foreign exchange market on Monday is likely to be lower than usual, as US stock markets are closed due to the celebration of Presidents' Day.
The US Dollar Currency Index (DXY), which tracks the dynamics of the dollar against six currencies (euro, swiss franc, yen, canadian dollar, pound sterling and swedish krona) fell by 0.06% to 103.80.
Investors continue to evaluate statements made by the Federal Reserve System representatives last week, which turned out to be more "hawkish" than many market participants expected. The president of the Federal Reserve Bank (FRB) of Cleveland, Loretta Mester, said that she saw "convincing arguments" in favor of raising the rate by 50 bps at the Fed meeting on January 31 - February 1. At that meeting, the rate was raised by 25 bps.
The head of the St. Louis Fed, James Bullard, also said that he called for a sharper rate hike at the last Fed meeting and does not rule out a large-scale step in the future.
The yuan rose slightly against the US dollar after the People's Bank of China again kept key lending rates unchanged. The central bank said that the one-year loan prime rate (LPR) remained at 3.65%, while the five-year LPR was maintained at 4.3%. The last time the Central Bank cut rates was in August 2022. At the same time, many economists believe that in the coming months the rate may be lowered to stimulate economic growth.