Reuters Poll: Fed to hold policy rate at 3.50%-3.75% until at least September

55 of 82 economists polled by Reuters think that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will keep the policy rate unchanged at the 3.5%-3.75% range at least until September.

65 out of 82 economists expect the Fed to cut the policy rate once or twice this year.

"The Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index - the Fed's preferred inflation measure - is expected to rise an annual 3.3%, 3.1% and 2.9% in the second, third and fourth quarters, respectively, broadly 50 basis points higher than forecasts from just two weeks ago," Reuters said.

Market reaction

The US Dollar (USD) preserves its strength in the second half of the day on Thursday. At the time of press, the USD Index was up 0.25% on the day at 99.90.