Dollar settles near 4-week high, due to strong US economy

US dollar settled near the highest level in 4 weeks today, Thursday, indifferent to the downgrade of the US credit rating, which cast a shadow over the financial outlook for America, and benefiting from strong data for jobs in the private sector.

According to Reuters, data on Wednesday showed that US private sector jobs increased more than expected in July, which supported the dollar, as the data indicated the continued strength of the labor market, which is expected to keep US interest rates high for a longer period.

This pushed the dollar index to its highest level since the seventh of July in the last session. In the latest transaction, it reached 102.56, not far from the highest level it recorded on Wednesday at 102.78.

The euro rose 0.06% to $1.0944, compensating for some of the losses it suffered from the previous session.

British pound rose 0.02% to $1.2714, ahead of the Bank of England’s monetary policy decision later on Thursday. The bank is expected to raise interest rates to their highest levels in 15 years to 5.25% from 5%.

Japanese yen recorded a slight increase to 143.31 per dollar, but it is still near its lowest level in more than 3 weeks of 143.545 per dollar recorded earlier this week.

Australian dollar rose in the latest transaction by 0.14% to $0.65465, while the New Zealand dollar fell 0.02% to $0.6079.