Forex Today: Powell sends the dollar down

What you need to know on Thursday, July 15:

The dollar edged lower against all of its major rivals, as US Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell made dovish comments in his semi-annual testimony. He said that the central bank would deliver powerful support until the economic recovery is complete. He added that inflation is expected to remain elevated in the upcoming months before easing, and acting prematurely would be a mistake.

Dollar’s rivals were limited and uneven. The EUR/USD pair hovers around 1.3850, while GBP/USD trades in the 1.3850 price zone. AUD/USD consolidates gains near a daily high at 0.7485, ahead of Australian employment data.

The USD/CAD pair closed the day unchanged at around 1.2510, as the CAD suffered from a less aggressive Bank of Canada. The central bank left its key rate unchanged at 0.25% following the July policy meeting as expected. Also, the BoC decided to reduce the target of weekly net asset purchases of the government of Canada bonds to C$2 billion from C$3 billion, and still guides a possible rate hike for the second half of 2022.

 Gold prices soared, with the bright metal nearing $1,830 a troy ounce for the first time since mid-June. Crude oil prices were sharply down after the release of US oil stockpiles, which decreased by 7.9 million barrels in the week ended July 9. WTI finished the day at $72.60 a barrel.

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