New york: The dollar headed today for its biggest monthly gain since July and stands out as the strongest so-called safe asset as war in the Middle East has set oil prices surging, nearly everything else sinking and raised the risk of global recession. It pushed 1% on South Korea's won to 1,534 won, levels touched only in the wake of the global financial crisis in 2009 and the Asian financial crisis in 1997 and 1998.
According to Oman News Agency, the euro was kept below $1.15, while sterling and the Australian and New Zealand dollars were pinned to multi-month lows. The Japanese yen, which touched its weakest since July 2024 on Monday, trades at 159.52 per dollar. The US dollar index touched its highest since last May on Monday at 100.61 and, last sitting at 100.47, is up 2.9% through March, marking its sharpest monthly rise since July.
The dollar is up nearly 4% for the month on the franc at 0.80 francs and has broken resistance levels for the Aussie and kiwi in recent sessions. The kiwi, down six straight sessions, is on the verge of breaking below 57 cents. The Aussie has fallen for eight sessions and hit a two-month low of $0.6834, down 3.7% for March and under major support at $0.6897. Sterling hovered just above $1.32.