FOREX-Dollar edges lower ahead of Fed’s Powell comments

The dollar edged lower on Friday, while the euro rebounded slightly after steep overnight losses, as traders weighed data showing inflation was easing and looked ahead to a talk later in the day by U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Softer inflation data in both the United States and the euro zone on Thursday reinforced expectations that both central banks might be done raising interest rates in their battle against price rises and led traders to bet on earlier cuts next year. Goldman Sachs on Friday said it now expected the European Central Bank to deliver its first rate cut in the second quarter of 2024, compared to an earlier forecast of a cut in the third quarter of next year.