Asian session review: the dollar rose against most currencies

During today's Asian trading, the US dollar rose against the euro and the yen on expectations of the two-day meeting of the US Federal Reserve (Fed), which starts on Tuesday.

Investors are focused on the Fed's forecast of when to expect a rise in short-term interest rates. According to analysts, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will not want to talk about this, but the ground will be prepared for discussions in the summer against the backdrop of peak inflation. In addition, some analysts expect the Fed to revise its GDP forecast after the adoption of a new $1.9 trillion stimulus package.

The Chinese yuan was almost unchanged against the dollar. Economic activity in China in January-February 2021 increased sharply compared to the same period a year earlier, when the country was virtually paralyzed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The volume of industrial production in the first two months of this year was 35.1% higher than in January-February last year, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics of China. Experts on average predicted an increase in industrial production by 30%.

The dollar rose against the yen, updating a nine-month high. The weakening of the Japanese national currency contributes to the growth of risk appetite.

The ICE index, which tracks the dollar's performance against six currencies (euro, swiss franc, yen, canadian dollar, pound sterling and swedish krona), rose 0.17%.