The euro exchange rate hardly moved on Wednesday. The European common currency was quoted at 1.0180 (previous day: 1.0161) dollars in the evening. The publication of the minutes of the US Federal Reserve’s last meeting hardly provided any fresh impetus. The Fed is preparing for a long fight against inflation and is leaving the size of the next rate hike open. In contrast, inflation figures from Great Britain fueled speculation about further interest rate hikes. Sterling fell 0.4 percent to $1.2050. The rate of inflation in Great Britain surprisingly cracked the ten percent mark in July, putting the central bank under further pressure to act. Goods and services cost an average of 10.1 percent more than a year earlier. This is the sharpest increase since February 1982. Economists had expected inflation to remain in single digits at 9.8 percent – as in June, when consumer prices rose by 9.4 percent. In the fight against the rapidly rising prices, the monetary authorities in London had recently increased the key interest rate by 50 basis points to 1.75 percent. Investors on the financial markets are preparing for interest rates to rise to 2.25 percent in mid-September.
Oil prices have regained some ground after their recent losses. A barrel (159 liters) of the US variety WTI was quoted 1.6 percent higher at $87.89. The prospect of a return of Iranian oil to the world market had recently become a burden on the oil market. The background is the current efforts to revive the international nuclear agreement of 2015. This aims to limit the Iranian nuclear program. In return, oil sanctions could fall and supply could increase.