The dollar is appreciating against most currencies after Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s statement that he is ready to tighten policy at a faster pace.

Powell, speaking at a National Association for Business Economics event, said the Fed is ready to raise the key rate by 50 basis points at once instead of the traditional 25 bps if necessary to curb 40-year record inflation.

“If we see a need for more aggressive action in the form of a rate hike of more than 25 bps in one or more meetings, we will do that,” Powell said. – “And if we think we need to make monetary policy tighter than the definition of ‘neutral,’ we will do that, too.”

Analysts found the Fed chief’s new statements more “hawkish” than at the end of the Fed’s March meeting last week. At that meeting, the regulator raised the rate by 25 bps for the first time in four years. The rate range now stands at 0.25-0.5%.

As of 8:50 Moscow time {{1691| rate of the euro to the dollar decreased by 0.25% – to $1.0988 compared to $1.1016 at the close of the previous session.

The value of the U.S. currency against the yen rose ha 0.74% to 120.35 yen against 119.47 yen at the end of trading on Monday.

The pound sterling fell 0.33% to $1.3126 compared to $1.3169 a day earlier. The Australian dollar fell 0.14% to $0.7390 c $0.7400.

The ICE index, which shows the dollar’s performance against six currencies (euro, Swiss franc, yen, Canadian dollar, pound sterling and Swedish krona), rose 0.29%, as did the broader WSJ Dollar Index.