Dollar Close To 16 Month High Against Peers – 30 October, 2018

The dollar was close to a 16 month high against a basket of major currencies, with the dollar index gaining overnight to trade at 97 after briefly hitting a 16 month high of 97.02. The gain was backed by stronger than expected economic data as well as  strong economic growth and U.S. consumer confidence rising to an 18 year high in October.  Against the yen, the dollar strengthened to 113.21 yen, gaining 0.6 percent the day before and hitting a three week high against the Japanese currency. The euro has so far lost a total of 2.3 percent against the dollar in October, last trading at $1.1343. Sterling hovered near its August lows of $1.2705 with Brexit concerns still up in the air. The Australian dollar dropped 0.35 percent to $0.7080, and the yuan was weaker at 6.97 per dollar in offshore trade.