Dollar strengthens on Bullard rate comments, Ukraine concerns

NEW YORK: The US dollar index reached a two-week high on Monday, with investors anxious over tensions in Ukraine and as St. Louis Federal Reserve president James Bullard reiterated calls for a faster pace of US Federal Reserve interest rate hikes.

Bullard on Monday also said that four strong inflation reports in a row warranted action.

Last week’s stronger-than-expected US consumer price index report has driven speculation the Fed might raise rates by a full 50 basis points in March.

“Clearly we still have the after shocks of last week’s inflation report and St. Louis Fed president Bullard’s comments,” said Karl Schamotta, chief market strategist at Cambridge Global Payments in Toronto.

“We have traders positioning for a front-loaded tightening cycle.”

But investors are glued to developments in Ukraine, and those tensions are causing investors to avoid riskier assets, he said.

Russia suggested on Monday that it was ready to keep talking to the West to try to defuse a security crisis in which it has massed a huge force within striking distance of Ukraine.

Washington has said Russia could invade Ukraine “any day now,” and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday called the situation “very, very dangerous.”

“The big driver clearly is tensions in the Ukraine. Markets are in risk-off mode across the board. Implied volatilities are up,” Schamotta said.

The dollar index was last up 0.4% after reaching 96.351, its highest since Feb. 1.

The yen strengthened slightly to 115.56 against the dollar, while the Swiss franc rose 0.1% against the dollar to 0.9264..

The move into safe-haven assets has overshadowed expectations for monetary policy tightening from the European Central Bank. ECB president Christine Lagarde also recently reiterated that any policy action will be gradual.

Against the dollar, the euro was down 0.4% at $1.1302.

The Fed will release its January meeting minutes on Wednesday.

In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin was up 1.3% at around $42,618.