The dollar reached its highest level in two weeks today, Wednesday, extending its gains amid talk of a possible increase in US interest rates and a wave of selling of technology stocks undermined risk appetite, which is in favor of the safe-haven currency.
Yesterday’s recovery in the dollar put pressure on the euro, which fell again below the level of 1.20 dollars today, Wednesday, recording its lowest level against the US currency in more than two weeks. Read also The highest ever … Israel’s debt rises to 302 billion dollars Investments in the Gulf countries and the world are witnessing an increase in US bonds Its value decreased, and Japan in the foreground … Get to know the largest investors in American bonds Below $ 7.1 trillion, the holdings of US bonds, Japan and China fell in the lead
The dollar index – which measures its performance against a basket of currencies – rose to 91,436 points, the highest level since April 19.
The recovery came after US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s remarks that there might be a need to raise interest rates to prevent the economy from inflationary growth.
Later, Yellen played down the comments, but the simplest sign of tightening monetary policy is severely affecting markets that have become so dependent on monetary stimulus.
The impact was evident on the shares of large-cap technology companies that suffered heavy losses overnight, with the Nasdaq index falling 1.88%.
Trading was limited in Asia due to a holiday in Japan and China, but the New Zealand dollar rose more than half percent to $ 0.7192 after the country’s jobs data came stronger than expected.
The Australian dollar also rose 0.3% to $ 0.7736. The dollar settled against the Japanese yen at 109.29 yen.
The British pound traded 0.24% higher at $ 1.3918, a day before the Bank of England meeting, during which some expect to announce the reduction of its bond-buying program.