Investing.com - The dollar retreated further against a basket of major currencies on Friday, after Federal Reserve Chair Yellen hinted that a March rate hike would be ‘appropriate’.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, slumped 0.62% to 101.53, after hitting a seven-week high of 102.26 on Thursday.
Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said on Friday, she expected a gradual increase in interest rates this year and hinted that should U.S. economic data come in as expected, then further monetary tightening "would likely be appropriate" at the Fed's policy meeting on March 15.
“At our meeting later this month, the committee will evaluate whether employment and inflation are continuing to evolve in line with our expectations, in which case a further adjustment of the federal funds rate would likely be appropriate,” Ms. Yellen said.
Investing.com’s Fed Rate monitor tool, inched higher after Ms. Yellen's comments − 81.9% of traders expect a rate hike in March compared to 73.1% of traders prior to Fed Chair Yellen’s speech.
Elsewhere, GBP/USD rose 0.07% to $1.2276 while EUR/USD tacked on nearly 1% to 1.0600.
Meanwhile, USD/CAD held firm to trade at $1.3401, up 0.06%
The dollar shed earlier gains against the yen with USD/JPY down 0.29% to 114.09.