U.S. dollar strengthens as Fed signals no rush for rate cuts

March 21, 2025 (MLN): The U.S. dollar was on the front foot against major peers on Friday after its best single-day performance for three weeks with the Federal Reserve indicating no rush to cut interest rates.

The risk-sensitive Australian and New Zealand dollars remained on the defensive after steep slides on Thursday as worries about the economic drag from U.S. President Donald Trump's aggressive campaign of global trade tariffs dented sentiment.

The dollar index measure against a basket of six counterparts was steady at 103.81 as of 0036 GMT, after climbing 0.36% on Thursday.

The index plumped a five-month low at 103.19 this week following a steady decline from the highest since late 2022 at 110.17 on January 13 as hopes for expansive policies under Trump gave way to anxiety that the global trade war he started could trigger a U.S. recession.

Fed policymakers held rates steady on Wednesday and signaled two quarter-point cuts for later this year, the same median forecast as three months ago.

"We're not going to be in any hurry to move," Fed Chair Jerome Powell said, underscoring the challenge policymakers face in navigating Trump's erratic tariffs, and the potential impact on the domestic economy.

A new round of reciprocal levies is expected on April 2.

"We see some signs of a potential turn in the USD ... with price now pushing into the range highs of this recent consolidation phase," said Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone.

"As we head into the April 2 Trump reciprocal tariff announcement, there is an increased risk that market players trim back on USD shorts and look to run a more neutral position."

The euro, which has by far the heaviest weighting in the dollar index, was little changed at $1.0854 after dropping 0.45% on Thursday.

"It seems the market has lost some confidence to bid EUR/USD into 1.1000, and the spot rate seems to be carving out a 1.0950 to 1.0800 range," Weston said.

Sterling eased 0.06% to $1.2961.

The dollar added 0.07% to 148.88 yen, and was steady against its Canadian counterpart at C$1.4321.

The Antipodean currencies, which are not part of the dollar index, suffered larger losses on Thursday.

The New Zealand dollar tumbled more than 1%, but found its feet at $0.05766 in the latest session, as Reuters reported.

The currency lost ground despite data on Thursday showing the economy crawled out of recession last quarter.

The Aussie was relatively stable at $0.6303 following a 0.86% slump.

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