Dollar near eight-day high as US data lifts Fed hike bets

Business Recorder reported that the greenback hovered close to its highest point in eight sessions on Thursday, as recent American inflation figures and other economic readings nudged up bets on another increase in Federal Reserve interest rates. Traders were also positioning ahead of the Jackson Hole gathering of central bankers, which was set to start later that day.

Commerce Department figures showed the PCE price index rose 3.7% over the 12 months to July, matching June and slightly exceeding the 3.6% forecast in a Reuters poll of economists. Monthly prices gained 0.2%, against an expected 0.1% rise, following a 0.1% decline in June. Westpac economist Ryan Wells said Chairman Kevin Warsh's Jackson Hole speech would be a decisive moment for the outlook.

Against the yen, the dollar was quoted at 159.23, having surrendered most of the gains made after earlier intervention, though it remained far from a multi-decade low of roughly 164. Money market pricing implied an 87% chance of a Bank of Japan rate hike next month, according to Totan Tanshi data, while investors awaited a speech by deputy governor Ryozo Himino.