Investing.com - The dollar remained broadly higher against a basket of other major currencies on Monday, trading at a 11-1/2 year peak as expectations for a near-term U.S. rate hike continued to lend broad support to the greenback.
The dollar remained broadly supported after the latest U.S. jobs report heigthened expectations for higher interest rates.
The Federal Reserve is expected to begin raising interest rates around the middle of this year and investors were looking ahead to next week’s policy statement to see if it would drop its reference to being patient before raising rates.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, climbed 0.85% to 98.45, the strongest since September 2003.
The euro extended losses, with EUR/USD tumbling 1.22% to 1.0720.
The euro came under pressure after the European Central Bank started asset purchases on Monday, pushing euro area bond yields to new lows.
Concerns over the situation in Greece also weighed, as the eurogroup of finance ministers were holding a second day of talks in Brussels to discuss a reform package put forward by Greece as part of its bailout review.
Last month Athens reached a temporary agreement with its lenders to extend its bailout by four months, but the reform package must be signed off by creditors before it can access further financial aid.
Germany’s finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble warned Tuesday that Greece must stop wasting time and start developing its reform package.
The dollar was higher against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY up 0.08% to 121.26, the highest since July 2007, while USD/CHF rallied 1.32% to a one-and-a-half month high of 0.9989.
Sterling slid lower, with GBP/USD down 0.25% to 1.5091.
AUD/USD declined 0.78% to 0.7646, while NZD/USD lost 1.02% to 0.7281. Separately, USD/CAD edged up 0.17% to trade at 1.2629.