U.S. dollar firms up as Bank of Japan maintains monetary policy unchanged

NEW YORK, June 17 (Xinhua) — The U.S. dollar made a solid comeback in late trading on Friday as a dovish policy stance by the Japanese central bank catalyzed a solid rebound of the dollar.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, was up 1.03 percent to 104.6960 in late trading following a deep dive in the previous session.

The Bank of Japan on Friday opted to maintain its ultra-easy monetary policy despite rising inflation and the yen’s recent weakness amid widening interest rate gaps with other central banks.

U.S. President Joe Biden’s latest comments in an interview with the Associated Press and his efforts to lower overseas shipping costs on Thursday seem to have boosted the dollar after the rout Thursday, according to foreign exchange and international payment solutions provider Tempus, Inc.

The price action on Friday also suggests that euro’s rally on Thursday was primarily fueled by short-covering since there wasn’t a follow-through rally, said James Hyerczyk, senior market analyst with market information supplier FX Empire.

The dollar index lost 1.45 percent on Thursday as a surprise hike of interest rates by the Swiss central bank sank the dollar.

In late New York trading on Friday, the euro was down to 1.0495 U.S. dollars from 1.0580 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound was down to 1.2211 U.S. dollars from 1.2357 dollars in the previous session. The Australian dollar decreased to 0.6936 U.S. dollars from 0.7064 U.S. dollars.

The U.S. dollar bought 134.96 Japanese yen, higher than 132.00 Japanese yen of the previous session. The U.S. dollar was up to 0.9704 Swiss franc from 0.9638 Swiss franc, and it increased to 1.3022 Canadian dollars from 1.2928 Canadian dollars.