NEW YORK, Dec 14 (Reuters) – The dollar was lower against the yen and the euro on Wednesday after first gaining ground when the U.S. Federal Reserve raised interest rates by half a percentage point as expected and said it would need to continue to raise rates.
The greenback reversed course and retreated when Fed Chair Jerome Powell took questions. The Fed projected at least an additional 75 basis points of increases in borrowing costs by the end of 2023 as well as a rise in unemployment and a near stalling of economic growth.
Ahead of the Fed meeting, lower-than-expected inflation data had led some investors to hope that Powell would take a more dovish tone at Wednesday’s press conference. But Powell said it was too soon to talk about the U.S. central bank’s cutting interest rates and that the Fed’s focus was on setting policy that would return inflation to its 2% goal over time.
“This is a more hawkish set of communications than…
