The euro rose at the start of trading today, but is still on its way to record the worst weekly performance since last October. Market expectations were for the dollar to weaken and the euro to strength this year as the eurozone economy recovers, which could prompt ECB to cut or trim its stimulus program.
EURUSD rose by 0.2% today to hit a daily high of 1.2286, after falling by 1.5% this week, but still being up by 2.3% since the beginning of the year. The dollar index rose by 1.1% this week, and overall the dollar has fallen about 2.1% since the beginning of 2018.
Sterling hit its highest level since Feb. 5 at 1.4065 following the Bank of England's announcement yesterday that interest rate hikes could be sooner than expected back in November, before erasing most of its gains yesterday. But with the beginning of the trading day GBPUSD rose again and is trading currently at 1.3950 levels.
Oil prices hit a six-day low in the wake of Iran's announcement of plans to boost production, while US output has hit record highs, prompting markets to worry about the sharp rise in global supply. US crude is trading at $ 60.70 a barrel while Brent crude is trading at $ 64.50 a barrel.
The digital currency Bitcoin rose for a second straight day to reach $8,230 levels after a series of declines to the lowest level since November at $ 5,800.
