The Dollar Resumes Its Rise

The US dollar rebounded to its most recent 14-month high, as the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting minutes reinforced expectations of a US interest rate hike in March.

The minutes of the US central bank’s meeting in December revealed that officials discussed reducing the bank’s total holdings and raising interest rates sooner than expected to combat inflation.

The dollar index, which measures its performance against a basket of currencies, rose 0.2 percent to 96.393, near its high level reached in November at 96.938.

The Australian dollar fell more than one percent to $0.7146 from $0.7273 it hit on Wednesday.

The British pound fell 0.3 percent to $1.3507, after falling overnight from $1.3599, its highest in nearly two months after the minutes of the Fed meeting were released.

The euro hovered unchanged around $1.13, sticking to the middle of the trading range it has been in since mid-November.