After the Netherlands put themselves in lockdown on December 19, the euro fell with the British Pound. The British health minister refused to rule out further restrictions for Christmas due to the rapid spread Omicron coronavirus variant.
After a Federal Reserve official indicated that a first pandemic-era rate hike could occur as soon as March, the US Dollar was at or near its highest level since July last year.
After the Netherlands put themselves in lockdown on December 19, the euro fell with the British Pound. The British health minister refused to rule out further restrictions for Christmas due to the rapid spread Omicron coronavirus variant.
The dollar index measures the currency against six major peer currencies and was at 96.629 last month, just a few months away from its peak of 96.938.
The World Health Organisation (WHO), which stated that Omicron cases are increasing in the areas with community transmission in the world, said that on December 18, Omicron cases were up to doubling every 1.5 to 3 days. However, it noted that there is still much to be known about the variant, such as the severity of its effects.
Chris Waller, Fed Governor, stated that an interest rate rise will likely be necessary “shortly” after the bank has ended its bond purchases of March 17.