Investing.com - The dollar rose to three-week highs against the euro on Thursday as prospects for more monetary easing hit demand for the single currency, while New Zealand’s dollar rallied its highest level in two-and-a-half years.
EUR/USD hit lows of 1.3741, the weakest since March 6 and was last down 0.21% to 1.3756.
The single currency remained under pressure after European Central Bank officials indicated earlier in the week that they are considering fresh policy options to stave off the risk of deflation in the region.
Elsewhere, USD/JPY was up 0.17% to 102.22 and USD/CHF rose 0.15% to 0.8863.
The pound rose to more than one-week highs against the dollar, with GBP/USD advancing 0.25% to 1.6621 after data showing that U.K. retail sales jumped in February underlined optamism over the rapid economic recovery.
The Office for National Statistics said U.K. retail sales rose 1.7% in February; recouping most of January’s 2.0% decline, and were 3.7% higher from a year earlier.
Market expectations had been for a 0.5% increase on the month and an annual gain of 2.5%.
NZD/USD rallied 0.88% to 0.8666, the strongest level since August 2011 after data showed that New Zealand’s trade surplus rose sharply in February. The kiwi received an additional boost after the country’s central bank deputy governor indicated that the bank could remove measures to cool the housing market, which would allow inflation to rise.
The Australian dollar was steady at four-month highs, with AUD/USD edging up 0.08% to 0.9232, while USD/CAD dipped 0.06% to 1.1094.
The US Dollar Index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.12% to 80.27.