SINGAPORE - The U.S. dollar was calm on Friday as traders braced for comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, while Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda aimed to soothe lingering market nerves after a surprise rate hike last month.
Bouts of interventions and an interest rate hike in July tripped up investors who unwound the popular carry trade, in which traders borrowed yen to finance high-yielding assets, yanking the yen away from the 38-year lows touched last month. However, Ueda said the central bank was ready to raise rates if the economy and prices move in line with its forecast.
Kansas City Fed Bank President Jeff Schmid, one of the U.S. central bank's more hawkish policymakers, was the outlier among hordes of policymakers speaking on Thursday. Markets are now pricing in 73.5% chance of the Fed cutting rates by 25 basis points at its September meeting, the CME FedWatch tool showed. Traders are also anticipating 99 bps of easing this year.