The US dollar extended higher gains on support from a surge in US inflation data that boosted market optimism for the Federal Reserve (Fed) to tighten its policy.
As is well known, US consumer prices rose last month at the fastest annual rate since 1990 and this is seen to shake the Fed’s view that high inflation is temporary.
The dollar index, which measures the strength of the greenback dollar, traded higher in the Asian session, with the price hitting its highest level since July 2020 at 95.25 against six other major currencies.
Being the next investor focus ahead of the weekend’s trading close is US consumer sentiment data on the New York session.
Euro trading, meanwhile, continued to show a decline to a 16 -month low against the greenback, amid the absence of key catalysts to support the currency.
Meanwhile, the pound has worsened to its latest low since December 2020 due to the strengthening of the USD, as well as being affected by the gloomy economic data.
The UK’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) silenced in the third quarter with growth of 1.3%, falling short of expectations to rise 1.5% and falling from the previous reading.
On the other hand, the Aussie and New Zealand dollars also slipped lower to one -month lows due to the strengthening of the greenback dollar.
