Traders dumped the U.S. dollar after New York Fed President Bill Dudley told news service MNI that financial conditions have tightened in the weeks since the Federal Reserve’s rate hike in December, reports Dan Burns for Reuters.
“One thing I think we can say with more confidence is that financial conditions are considerably tighter than they were at the time of the December meeting,” Dudley told MNI. “So if those financial conditions were to remain in place by the time we get to the March meeting, we would have to take that into consideration in terms of that monetary policy decision.”
As the greenback depreciates, USD-denominated gold grows less expensive for foreign buyers.
“This rally in gold has happened much faster than many people thought it would,” George Gero, a senior vice president with RBC Capital Markets Global Futures, told the Wall Street Journal. “The markets have been taken by surprise.”
Max Chen contributed to this article.