The dollar starts the week on a strong note

The dollar rose at the start of the week to a level just under a 20-year high against other major currencies on Monday as investors sought safe havens due to concerns about global growth while cryptocurrency markets appeared to have found some stability after last week’s turmoil.

The dollar index hit 104.54, after briefly exceeding 105 on Friday, its highest level since December 2002, after six consecutive weeks of gains.

Investors turned to the safe-haven currency due to concerns about the ability of the US Federal Reserve to curb inflation without causing a recession, as well as concerns about slowing growth caused by the Ukraine crisis and the economic consequences of China’s policy on the non-proliferation of the Corona virus.

Barclays analysts said that “rising concerns about global growth support the strong strength of the US dollar.”

They added that events to watch this week include US retail and production data due on Tuesday.

The euro started the week near its lowest level since early 2017, weighed down by a stronger dollar and the damage to the European economy from the conflict in Ukraine.

The euro reached $1.0398 on Monday morning, just above Thursday’s level of $1.0354, its lowest since early 2017.

And the British pound recorded 1.2256 dollars on Monday, after falling to 1.2156 dollars last week, affected by the lower-than-expected GDP numbers for the first quarter.

The Japanese yen fell slightly on Monday morning, recording 129.43 yen per dollar.

In the cryptocurrency market, Bitcoin recorded about $31,000 after falling to $21,400 on Thursday, its lowest level since December 2020.