The dollar index is seen ending the week on a firm note above 99 mark on Friday, taking cues from hawkish comments from US Fed chair Jerome Powell. The index is hovering at its highest level in nearly three months after Powell cautioned during the post-meeting press conference that policymakers may need to take a wait-and-see approach until official data reporting resumes. Powell also added that another rate cut in December is far from certain, emphasizing that the outlook remains uncertain. He also noted that the central bank is struggling to balance its dual mandate of controlling inflation and supporting employment due to limited data availability amid the ongoing US government shutdown. Meanwhile, the meeting between Presidents Trump and Xi concluded with the US agreeing to reduce tariffs to 47% from 57% on Chinese goods, while China pledged to curb fentanyl exports, increase US soybean purchases, and suspend restrictions on rare earth exports. The dollar index that measures the greenback against a basket of currencies is quoting at 99.46, up 0.07% on the day. Investors await further comments from Fed officials for additional clues on the policy outlook.

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