Dollar up, Euro approaches 20-year low ‎

The US dollar compensated for some losses from the release of data and rebounded towards its recent peaks on Wednesday, while the euro remained under pressure amid growing fears of recession fueled by a potential energy supply crisis.

Dollar caught its breath after disappointing surveys of the service and manufacturing sectors in the United States, which were revealed on Tuesday, as well as a decline in new home sales. This comes after a rally that pushed the US currency to the strongest level against the euro in 20 years, Reuters reported.

But Europe has its own growth concerns stemming from its greater exposure to Russian gas supplies as the region seeks to replenish stocks before winter.

The dollar index, which measures the performance of the US currency against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.1 percent to 108.66, approaching a 20-year peak recorded in July at 109.29.

Meanwhile, highly cyclical currencies, such as the Australian and New Zealand dollars, have come under pressure amid fears of slowing global growth.

The Australian dollar fell 0.15% to $0.6920, and its New Zealand counterpart fell 0.23% to $0.6199.

The pound hovered above a two-and-a-half year low of $1.1718 hit on Tuesday, while the Japanese yen rose 0.2% to 136.48 per dollar.