NEW YORK: The dollar rose on Wednesday, hitting a one-year high versus the yen and multi-month peaks with other currencies as investors bet fiscal stimulus and aggressive vaccinations will help the United States lead a global pandemic recovery.
The dollar index, a gauge of its value against six major currencies, however fell 0.1% to 93.124. But it was on track to post its biggest quarterly gain since June 2018, up around 3.5%.
The index rose as far as 93.439, the highest in almost five months. It has climbed from close to 90 at the start of March, on course for its best month since July 2019.
The greenback held its gains following data showing the US economy added more than 500,000 private sector jobs in February.
The dollar set a one-year top of 110.97 yen and was last up 0.2% at 110.535 yen. For the quarter, the dollar posted gains of about 7%, on pace for its best performance since December 2016.
The euro, meanwhile, fell to a five month low versus the dollar at $1.1704, but was last up 0.2% at $1.1735. On the quarter, the euro was on track for its weakest showing since September 2019.
In the cryptocurrency market, bitcoin briefly topped $59,000, trying to close the distance to the record peak at $61,781.83 set earlier this month. It was last up 0.8% at $59,243.
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