Daily Times

The U.S. dollar strengthened on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve signaled determination to raise interest rates after the pause in June. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, was up 0.32 percent to 103.3727 in late trading. According to minutes for June’s meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee issued on Wednesday, almost all participants noted in their economic projections that they judged “additional increases in the target federal funds rate during 2023 would be appropriate.” Fed members also upgraded their rate hike forecast, estimating a terminal rate or peak rate of 5.6 percent at the midpoint in 2023, up from a prior forecast of 5.1 percent seen in March, suggesting two more hikes ahead. The benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury rose by more than 8 basis points to 3.941 percent at one point, while the yield on the 2-year Treasury was at 4.945 percent, closer to a 52-week high of 5.084 percent, after release of the minutes.