Dollar firms heading into busy week of geopolitics

SINGAPORE: The dollar gained against the euro and sterling on Monday ahead of a meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian and European counterparts, while focus also turned to the Federal Reserve's Jackson Hole symposium for policy cues.
The euro was down 0.2% against the dollar at $1.1683, while the British pound slipped 0.1% to $1.3546. The paring of wagers on a rate cut by the Fed next month helped the dollar find some support amid otherwise muted moves in foreign exchange markets. Money markets are now pricing in an 85% chance the Fed will ease rates by a quarter point next month, as traders pulled back wagers on the certainty of a cut after a jump in US wholesale prices and a solid increase in July's retail sales.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell is due to speak on the economic outlook and the central bank's policy framework at the Jackson Hole symposium between August 21 and 23. MUFG expects the US central bank to cut rates in September as well, but it’s unlikely that the Fed chair will give a clear signal towards that later this week, said Lee Hardman, senior currency analyst at MUFG Bank.
The main event for investors on Monday is a White House meeting between Trump and Zelenskiy, joined by European leaders, as Washington presses Ukraine to accept a quick peace deal. Trump had met his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Friday and agreed that a peace deal should be worked upon without a ceasefire. 'Financial markets are continuing to trade like there could be some - still undetermined - path to peace,' an ING analyst note said.
In other currencies, the dollar rose 0.1% against the Japanese yen to 147.38, while the Swiss franc slipped 0.1% to 0.8069. The Australian dollar rose 0.1% to $0.6515, and the New Zealand dollar rose 0.3% to $0.5941 after falling last week. Cryptocurrency bitcoin eased 2% to $115,362.46, while ether slid 4.3% to $4,275.85.— Reuters