U.S. dollar rallies as caution remains about Fed's interest rate policy

The speech of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, to the Economic Club of New York, appears on a television screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2018. Powell cast a bright picture of the U.S. economy Wednesday and appeared to suggest that the Fed might consider a pause in its interest rate hikes next year to assess the impact of its credit tightening. [Photo:AP]

The U.S. dollar rebounded slightly in late trading on Tuesday, as investors remained cautious about how the Federal Reserve would shape its interest rate policy during a two-day meeting which started on Tuesday.

The market has widely anticipated U.S. central bank's fourth rate hike this year. However, analysts expect that Fed's pace for rate hikes next year will slow down.

Some even uttered a more negative voice that the three years of steady rate hikes will likely come to an end after Fed's policy meeting on Wednesday.

The Fed started to raise its benchmark overnight lending rate from near zero to over two percent since December 2015, and then gradually raised it to a range between 2.25 percent to 2.5 present to date.

Adding to market volatility, U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly chided the Fed over its monetary policy, imposing pressure on its rate hike decisions this year.

In his latest reference to the Fed, he warned the institution not to make "yet another mistake."

"Don't let the market become any more illiquid than it already is. Stop with the 50 B's. Feel the market, don't just go by meaningless numbers. Good luck!" he said on Twitter on Tuesday.

In late New York trading, the euro rose to 1.1355 dollars from 1.1350 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound rose to 1.2638 dollars from 1.2629 U.S. dollars in the previous session. The Australian dollar fell to 0.7171 dollar from 0.7177 dollar.

The U.S. dollar bought 112.53 Japanese yen, lower than 112.75 Japanese yen of the previous session. The U.S. dollar increased to 0.9928 Swiss franc from 0.9925 Swiss franc, and it was up to 1.3492 Canadian dollars from 1.3408 Canadian dollars.