The U.S. dollar held onto its gains on Thursday after the Federal Reserve decided to keep interest rates within the range of 5.25% to 5.5%. The dollar index, measuring the greenback against a basket of major currencies, rose to 105.68—its peak since March—before closing at 105.45.
Japan’s yen reacted strongly to the Fed’s policy decision, hitting 148.255 per dollar after reaching a 10-month low of 48.465 earlier on Thursday. The dollar remained strong against the euro, priced at $1.0658 per euro after previously touching a six-month low of $1.0617.
As investors braced themselves for the Bank of England’s interest rate decision later in the day, the pound stood at $1.2316, just above a four-month low. With the UK’s inflation rate unexpectedly slowing in August, traders are unsure as to how the Bank of England will respond to this development.