• The aussie remains near two-week lows at 0.6270.
• A hawkish Fed has given a new boost to the dollar.
• Weak services PMI data has detracted from the dollar’s strength.

The aussie is suffering on Thursday against a stronger dollar, following the Fed’s hawkish message after Wednesday’s monetary policy decision. The pair attempted to rebound from 2-week lows at 0.9270 earlier today, although it failed to find acceptance above 0.9300.

The Fed’s hawkish speech has boosted the dollar

The US dollar is rising across the board, buoyed by comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Powell reiterating the Fed’s commitment to continue to tighten borrowing costs until inflation returns to the 2% target. .

As expected, the Fed raised its benchmark rate by 0.75%, the fourth hike in a row. In addition, the Fed’s Powell denied suggestions that the Fed may have tightened too much, saying interest rates could hit levels higher than market expectations, sending the dollar and US Treasuries soaring. .

The dollar fell slightly in the US session, following weaker-than-expected US services activity data, though it trimmed losses shortly after.

According to data released by the Institute for Supply Management, the services PMI for October slowed to 54.4 from 56.7 in September, beating the consensus of 55.5, and indicators for employment and new orders posted sharper-than-expected declines. These figures have weakened the dollar.

Just today, preliminary figures anticipated that non-farm productivity expanded well below expectations in the third quarter: 0.3% vs. 0.6% consensus, and unit labor costs slowed to 3.5% from 8.9%. of the previous quarter.

On the bright side, initial jobless claims increased by 217,000 in the week to October 20, versus expectations for a 220,000 increase.

Technical levels to watch