NEW YORK: The US dollar gained against the euro and yen on Tuesday as investors focused on the likelihood that the Federal Reserve will continue hiking rates, while the Aussie jumped after the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) surprised with a rate increase.

Fed officials are in a blackout period ahead of the US central bank’s June 13-14 meeting and the next major economic release will be the consumer price report for May on June 13.

“We’re waiting to see if inflation is going to provide some upside surprises,” said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA in New York. However, “with more people thinking that June is not really a live meeting, we’re not seeing the biggest moves.”

The Fed is seen as likely to pause in June as it evaluates the impact of higher rates on the economy. Fed funds futures traders see the Fed as likely to then resume rate increases, with a 66% chance of an at least 25 basis-point increase in July, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch Tool.

The euro was last down 0.28% against the dollar at $1.0679 and the greenback gained 0.07% to 139.66 yen. The dollar index was up 0.26% at 104.25.