The dollar continues to climb on optimism
The u.s. dollar continued to climb against the other major currencies on Friday, after the minutes of the last policy meeting of the federal Reserve and upbeat data on Thursday have boosted optimism over the strength of the u.s. economy.
The greenback was boosted after the u.s. department of labor reported Thursday that applications for initial allocations to the unemployment fell by 7,000 to 222,000 last week, compared to expectations of a reading of 230 000.
The data were published the day after the publication of the minutes of the meeting of January monetary policy of the Fed which showed that the central bankers saw an increase in economic growth and a rise in inflation to justify the rate of interest gradually.
The dollar was pressured to decline recently due to expectations of a monetary tightening faster outside of the United States, which would reduce the divergences between the Fed and other central banks.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength versus a weighted basket based on the trade of six major currencies, was up 0.13% 89,78 at 05:00 AM (09:00 GMT), near a record high a week and a half reached the week of 90,17.
The euro and the pound sterling were lower, with EUR / USD down 0.15% to 1,2310, while GBP / USD has gained by 0.16% to 1,3974.
Official data earlier showed that the increase in consumer prices in the euro area had increased by 1.3% year-on-year in January, according to forecasts.
On a monthly basis, consumer prices decreased 0.9% last month, also in line with expectations.
Elsewhere, the yen and the swiss franc were weaker, with USD / JPY rising 0.12% to 106,88 and with USD / CHF edged up 0.16% to 0,9339.
The dollars of australia and new zealand were lower, with AUD / USD down 0.28% to 0,7823 and with NZD / USD down 0.52% to 0,7303.
During this time, USD / CAD is maintained at 1.2711.
