Khaberni - The dollar experienced a strong rise and is heading on Thursday towards achieving its biggest monthly gains in nearly a year, as traders bet that the strength of the American economy will support short-term interest rates, pending the release of key inflation data.
This week, the dollar broke through the 1.14 level against the euro, reaching its strongest in 13 months at 1.1325 dollars overnight, before stabilizing in Asian trading around 1.1353 dollars.
At 161.73 yen, the dollar is narrowly close to its highest level in just over four decades against the struggling Japanese currency.
The strength of the dollar pushed the price of gold below 4000 dollars per ounce for the first time in more than seven months, and briefly drove the price of Bitcoin below 60 thousand dollars for the first time since the year 2024.
The dollar index, which measures the performance of the American currency against a basket of six other major currencies, reached its highest level in 13 months at 101.8 overnight, and began the Asian trading session at about 101.6.
The war with Iran and the sharp rise in oil prices have shifted market expectations of a cut in US interest rates this year, and the monetary tightening stance adopted last week by the new Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh has led traders to anticipate interest rate hikes by October.
The dollar recorded its highest level in seven months against the British pound overnight at 1.314 dollars, and its highest in 11 months at 0.8139 Swiss franc.
Stock market volatility has put further pressures on both the Australian and New Zealand dollars. The Australian dollar dropped to a level of 0.6890 American dollars before the release of May's job data, losing more than 1.8% since the start of the week.
The New Zealand dollar, which fell 1.7% this week, settled at 0.5640 American dollars, slightly above its seven-month lowest recorded yesterday Wednesday at 0.5631 dollars.
Later today, data on core personal consumption expenditures for May will be released. It is expected to show an increase although forecasts indicate a slowdown in inflation with oil prices retreating to pre-war levels.
