Dollar perks up as Fed appears in no rush to cut rates

The dollar was off recent lows on Thursday and hanging on to a bounce after minutes from the Federal Reserve showed policymakers did not seem to be in a rush to cut interest rates and that several were open to hikes if inflation proved sticky. US yields were higher and the dollar’s overnight gains against the euro and yen were consolidated in early trade in Asia, holding the euro below $1.18. The Aussie dollar held at $0.7045 after employment data showed the jobless rate stayed at multi-month lows of 4.1%. The New Zealand dollar was smarting, having notched its steepest percentage drop since last April’s tariff blitz, after the central bank took a cautious line about future interest rate hikes, undershooting market expectations.