LONDON/SINGAPORE, Feb 8 (Reuters) – The dollar fell on Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell declined to meaningfully harden his tone on inflation, despite very strong U.S. jobs numbers last week.
In a question-and-answer session before the Economic Club of Washington on Tuesday, Powell said interest rates might need to move higher than expected if the U.S. economy remained strong, but reiterated he felt a process of “disinflation” is underway.
The dollar slipped as Powell spoke and lost more ground in early European trading on Wednesday.
The euro was last up 0.14% to $1.074, after falling to $1.067 in the previous session, its lowest since Jan. 9. It remained far above September’s 20-year low of $0.953.
“One would expect that Powell would have delivered a little bit of a more constructive view on the rate outlook,” said Kamal Sharma, senior FX strategist at Bank of…