on Wednesday and, as expected, did not announce the beginning of asset purchase tapering. But chair Jerome Powell flagged that it was not far off, perhaps as near as November, and said board members thought tapering could conclude around mid-2022 - opening the way for rate hikes after that. read more Sponsored by Yelp Lightweb Communications Internet Service Providers See more As well as helping the dollar, the U.S. yield curve flattened and Fed funds futures markets moved to price a 50% chance of a hike in October and to fully price a 25 basis point rate hike in December after his comments.