NEW YORK: The US dollar rose and the safe-haven yen weakened again on Wednesday as the markets continued to adjust to higher interest rates and prospects for economic growth following news on Monday of encouraging results for a coronavirus vaccine.

The euro fell to its lowest level against the dollar in a week as yields on US bonds rise compared with those on European bonds. And, the New Zealand dollar soared to its strongest in a year and a half as traders scaled back bets that the central bank there would move to negative interest rates.

The dollar has started moving up with gains in equities in a switch from its safe-haven status during the Covid-19 crisis when it tended to move in the opposite direction, said Erik Nelson, macro strategist at Wells Fargo Securities.

The dollar was up 0.5% on Wednesday against a basket of currencies after a flat day on Tuesday and a rise of 0.5% on Monday.

The euro was down 0.5% on the day to $1.175 against the dollar. The US dollar rose 0.3% to 105.59 versus the Japanese yen.

The dollar gained 0.7% against the trade-sensitive Norwegian crown to 9.087. The Aussie dollar fell 0.3% to 0.7263.—Reuters