Summary Dollar firmed against other major currencies Thursday after robust US growth data.
NEW YORK (AFP) - The dollar firmed against other major currencies Thursday after US second-quarter economic growth was revised sharply higher ahead of a key Federal Reserve summit of central bankers.
US gross domestic product growth was upwardly revised to 3.7 percent for the April-June period from the previous estimate of 2.3 percent, a revision Robert Brusca of FAO Economics called "a breath of fresh air."
The dollar s gains came as central bankers and other top experts from around the world headed to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, for the annual Fed symposium.
Investors were closely monitoring the pow-wow for insight on when the Fed would begin raising its zero-level federal funds rate. A rate increase generally lifts the dollar as investors seek higher returns.
Fed Chair Janet Yellen will not attend the Jackson Hole meeting. All eyes will be on Vice Chair Stanley Fisher, who is scheduled to speak about US inflation developments.
Forex markets participants "are wary of the weekend s Fed annual jamboree at Jackson Hole, which will be an ideal venue for guidance about whether a September rate hike is still on the cards or not," said XE.com analysts in a blog.
On Wednesday, William Dudley, head of the central bank s New York branch, said the case for raising interest rates in September was "less compelling" amid market turbulence.
After Dudley downplayed a September hike, Ian Shepherdson of Pantheon Macroeconomics shifted his forecast to a December move, while Barclays put it in March 2016.
