The US Dollar Is Stable, New Zealand Eases Restrictions

The dollar was broadly flat on Monday and currency markets lacked momentum as investors weighed expectations of price volatility with the extent to which central banks could tolerate inflationary pressures.

Last week, the Federal Reserve (the US central bank) stuck to its view that the current high inflation is expected to be temporary.

The dollar index recorded 94.229, little changed, holding below its 15-month high, which was hit on Friday after the stronger-than-expected US jobs report.

The Australian dollar fell 0.1 percent to $0.73992. The New Zealand dollar rose 0.3 percent to $0.71395 after Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced that lockdown measures are likely to be lifted gradually by the end of the month.
The euro rose slightly, by 0.1 percent, to $1.1573.

Philip Lane, the European Central Bank’s chief economist, told a Spanish newspaper that inflation in the eurozone would decline next year and remain low in the medium term, echoing the bank’s view that inflation will be temporary.

The British pound settled at $1.3486 after falling to a five-week low last week when the Bank of England surprised markets by not raising interest rates.

As for digital currencies, the price of Bitcoin rose 4.6 percent to about $ 66,228, approaching its highest level ever recorded in the recent period. The price of Ether rose to a record high last night at $4,768.07.