The US dollar extended gains against key currencies on Wednesday after the release of minutes from last month’s Federal Reserve meeting, while world shares smashed records on investor optimism in the new year, Reuters reports.
The dollar index .DXY rose 0.33 percent, with the euro EUR= down 0.36 percent to $1.2013.
The euro fell to a session low versus the dollar after the release of minutes from last month’s Federal Reserve meeting. During the meeting, Fed policy makers decided to raise short-term interest rates for a third time in 2017.
According to the minutes, policymakers showed worry over the fate of currently low inflation and saw recent tax changes as providing a boost to consumer spending.
“I would say there’s a little bit of a hawkish tilt in the minutes here,” said Charlie Ripley, senior investment strategist at Allianz Investment Management in Minneapolis.
“If you think about some of the stuff from the previous statement, there wasn’t a ton of change. Really, I think the discussion is centered around the inflation topic.”