FOREX-Dollar buoyed by yields surge jump after Fed's inflation shift

The dollar held gains against major currencies on Friday, after the Federal Reserve's aggressive new strategy to lift employment and increased tolerance for higher inflation pushed U.S. bond yields up.

The dollar's index rose against six major currencies and was last trading at 93.061, turning around a sharp decline seen on Thursday.

Speaking at the Fed's Jackson Hole symposium, which was held virtually this year, Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank will seek to achieve 2% inflation on average, so that periods of super-low inflation would likely be followed by an effort to lift inflation “moderately above 2% for some time,” and to ensure economic recovery and job creation. Powell's comments, the dollar initially fell sharply against the yen and the euro, but reversed as longer-term U.S. Treasury yields bounced back to their highest levels in months.

“Since FOMC meeting in June, the treasury yields have declined and the dollar fell, but I think that will not be the case for the time being, especially after the Fed's speech. The market is more likely to see higher treasury yields,” said Masafumi Yamamoto, chief currency strategist at Mizuho Securities in Tokyo.