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Dollar drops, gold near record high as bets for big Fed cut ramp up

Investors on Friday ratcheted up bets for a supersized Federal Reserve rate of interest cut next week, after media reports suggested the decision would be a. closer require officials than formerly thought.

Traders raised bets back to 39% for a 50-basis point. reduction on Sept. 18, according to LSEG information, from about 28%. before short articles in the Financial Times and Wall Street Journal. appeared.

This is yet another twist in the (Fed rate cut) argument,. said Tony Sycamore, an analyst at IG, noting the tug-of-war. being played out in bond futures and the dollar-yen rate in. particular.

Everybody thought we were back on track for 25 basis. points, and now 50 is unexpectedly back on the table.

The dollar dropped 0.42% to 141.22 yen since 0020. GMT, heading back towards Wednesday's low at 140.71, the weakest. level this year.

The dollar index, which measures the currency against. the yen and five other significant competitors, dropped to a one-week. trough.

Gold hovered simply below Thursday's all-time high of. $ 2,560.01, last altering hands at $2,558.55.

Equities were mixed however, with Japan's Nikkei. losing 0.7% under the weight of a stronger yen, while South. Korea's Kospi edged partially lower. Australia's. criteria climbed 0.75%. Chinese markets had yet to. open.

Japan, mainland China and South Korea are all heading into. long weekends, with Tokyo back on Tuesday, China on Wednesday. and South Korea not up until Thursday.

U.S. stock futures punctuated somewhat following gains on. Thursday in the cash indexes. S&P 500 futures were 0.1%. greater.

Petroleum continued to climb following gains of around 2%. overnight as manufacturers evaluated the effect on output in the Gulf. of Mexico after Cyclone Francine tore through offshore. oil-producing areas.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate unrefined futures increased 0.5%. to $69.32 per barrel, structure on Thursday's 2.5% rally. Brent. crude futures included 0.4% to $72.26, after a 1.9% jump in. the previous session.

(source: Reuters)