Dollar hovers near 3-week high before Fed; bitcoin tops $106,000
Live Mint* Federal Reserve, BOJ, BoE rate decisions in focus this week * Fed expected to cut by 25 bps on Wed, forgo January cut * Bitcoin climbs to record $106,533 By Kevin Buckland and Greta Rosen Fondahn TOKYO/GDANSK, Dec 16 - The U.S. dollar hovered close to a three-week high versus other major currencies on Monday, ahead of a week of central bank meetings in which markets expect the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates but signal a measured pace of easing for 2025. The decline in euro zone business activity eased this month, a survey showed, while European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said on Monday the ECB will cut interest rates further if inflation continues to ease towards its 2% target. The U.S. dollar index - which tracks the currency against six others - was up 0.1% at 106.98 at 1220 GMT, after rising to 107.18 on Friday for the first time since Nov. 26. Trump suggested in an interview with CNBC late last week that he planned to go ahead with a proposal to build a U.S. bitcoin strategic reserve, similar to its strategic oil reserve.