Dollar Gains After Holiday – 22 April, 2019

Plans for the U.S. to tighten Iranian oil exports next month helped support the Canadian dollar with prices of the commodity rising, while the greenback gained against major rivals. The dollar index had a minor jump to 97.336 against a basket of six major currencies, just below the 2019 high of 97.71 hit earlier last month. Against the yen, the dollar moved away from the high of 112.17 it hit last week to settle at 111.80, while the Australian dollar dipped 0.1 percent lower to $0.7128 with inflation data in the first quarter set to be released this week. The euro dipped to $1,1249, and sterling rose slightly to $1.2985. With Washington’s plans to eliminate waivers of eight countries next month, oil prices were firm near six month highs., helping the Canadian dollar hold firm.