US$ hits two-week high after Fed hikes rate

London

THE US dollar hit a two-week high against a basket of major rivals on Thursday after the US Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the first time in almost a decade and signalled four more hikes are to come next year.

In a widely anticipated move, the Fed increased its benchmark interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point on Wednesday. Shares soared, the two-year Treasury yield hit its highest point in five years, and the greenback rose around 1 per cent against its basket.

Though Fed chief Janet Yellen said that further US monetary tightening would be gradual and data-dependent, some market watchers sensed a hawkish tone in the unanimous support Fed officials gave Ms Yellen for the hike, and the fact that their median projected target rate for 2016 remained at 1.375 p…