Dollar nears pandemic peaks
SINGAPORE- The dollar stood at its highest level since the early days of the pandemic on Wednesday and was heading for its best month since 2015, supported by the prospect of US rate hikes and on safe-haven flows fanned by slowing growth in China and Europe.
Fears for Europe’s energy security pushed the euro to a five-year low of $1.0635 after Russia’s Gazprom said it would cut gas supply to Poland and Bulgaria.
The US dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, edged up to 102.39 in the Asia session, the strongest it has been since March 2020.
“The dollar is the hedge in markets presently, while commodities including gold are no longer working as effectively,” said analysts at Citi.
“The dollar is ‘quality carry,’” they added. “The dollar also offers more yield than any of the other safe haven FX alternatives.”
The dollar index is up 4 percent this month and the euro,…
