Investing.com - The dollar extended gains against the other major currencies on Thursday, after posting its largest one day gain in more than a month the previous day as concerns over the outlook for global growth eased.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, rose 0.22% to 95.02.
The index rose 0.84% on Wednesday, rebounding from Tuesday’s eight-month lows after data showing that Chinese exports rose for the first time in nine month in March eased concerns over a China-led slowdown in global growth.
The dollar received an additional boost overnight and Asian markets rose after a surprise decision by Singapore’s central bank to ease monetary policy.
EUR/USD was down 0.21% at 1.1251, well below the six-month highs of 1.1464 set on Tuesday.
The dollar eased against the yen, with USD/JPY slipping 0.12% to 109.20, still holding well above Monday’s 17-month trough of 107.62.
The yen’s gains were checked after Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said Wednesday the central bank was prepared to ease monetary policy again if necessary, adding that there are "many ways" to do so in order to reach its 2% inflation target.
The BoJ shocked markets with its decision to adopt negative interest rates earlier this year, but the strong yen is posing a challenge to the central bank’s attempts to spur price growth
Sterling was weaker ahead of the Bank of England’s interest rate announcement later in the day, with GBP/USD sliding 0.53% to 1.4129.
The BoE was widely expected to make no changes to monetary policy despite recent data showing that inflation at a 15-month high of 0.5%.
Sentiment on the pound was also hit after a YouGov survey showing both sides evenly matched ahead of the referendum on Britain’s future in the European Union on June 23.