Dollar Gains as Fed Minutes Signal Unabated Tapering; Baht Falls

The dollar gained the most in three weeks after Federal Reserve policy makers signaled emerging-market turmoil and economic reports that have fallen short of forecasts won’t interrupt stimulus-tapering plans.

The U.S. currency strengthened versus most of its 16 major peers, including those of commodity producers Canada and Australia, as Treasury yields rose after “several” central bank officials said “there should be a clear presumption in favor of continuing” the pace of bond-buying reductions, barring a change in the economic outlook. Emerging-market currencies weakened as anti-government protests escalated in Ukraine and Thailand.

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index, which tracks the currency against 10 major counterparts, added 0.3 percent to 1,020.16 as of 5 p.m. in New York, the largest increase on a closing basis since Jan. 30.

The yen rose 0.1 percent to 102.31 per dollar after dropping 0.4 percent yesterday, and Japan’s currency rose 0.2 percent to 140.51 per euro. The dollar gained 0.2 percent to $1.3733 per euro after sliding to $1.3739.

(Source: Bloomberg)