The dollar has started the new week on a positive note but is still on course to register a monthly decline of roughly 1%, its second straight losing month.
The U.S. Federal Reserve hiked interest rates last week, but expectations are growing that this could be the last increase of the central bank’s aggressive year-long tightening cycle.
Chair Jerome Powell pointed to the importance of upcoming data, with two CPI prints, two jobs reports, and the Employment Cost Index due before the September meeting.
The second-quarter ECI figure came in at 1.0% on Friday – a drop from 1.2% in the first quarter and a peak of 1.4% in the first quarter of 2022. This suggests the inflationary pressure from rising wages is lessening, adding to the reasons for Fed policymakers to stand still in September.
